Daniel J. Benjamin

Professor of Behavioral Economics and Genoeconomics

About

Daniel Benjamin’s background is in behavioral economics, where his research incorporates ideas and methods from psychology into economic analysis. His research on genoeconomics develops tools for incorporating genomic data into the social sciences. His research topics include understanding errors people make in statistical reasoning; exploring how best to use survey measures of subjective well-being  to track national well-being and evaluate policies; and identifying genetic variants associated with outcomes such as educational attainment and subjective well-being.

Read Full Bio 
Topics
Place holder image for faculty

6 Articles

An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler Research Brief / Happiness

How-To Guide for Happiness Surveys, Which Increasingly Drive Public Policy

Advice for researchers aims to help improve both data collection and its interpretation

A color image of a genome. Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

College Completion and Your Genome (Don’t Get Too Excited)

It’s still early days in genetic research, though advances will aid study of educational attainment and, notably, disease

A sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket wearing a black graduation cap with a red tasle Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

How Far Would You Go for an Ivy League Kid?

Study finds interest in screening embryos for education propensity, especially if everyone else is doing it

An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler Feature / Happiness

The Unhappy Quest for a Happiness Index

Pushing aside GDP for a measure of human well-being turns out to be very, very difficult. Ask Dan Benjamin

Person looking through a multifaceted gemstone Research Brief / Health

Embryo Selection, Polygenic Scoring and Unrealistic Expectations

False hope for instilling disease resistance and desirable traits?

A young child leans onto a desk with arms folded and stares at a small marshmallow Feature / Behavioral Decision Making

New Study Disavows Marshmallow Test’s Predictive Powers

Test's originator was a central co-author but died before its completion