M. Keith Chen

Professor of Economics

About

Keith Chen teaches MBA core strategy and Ph.D. behavioral economics. His research blurs traditional disciplinary boundaries in both subject and methodology, bringing unorthodox tools to bear on problems at the intersection of economics, psychology and biology. Chen’s most recent work focuses on how people’s economic choices are influenced by the structure of their language. His work has shown that how a person’s language encodes future events influences future-oriented behaviors as diverse as saving, smoking and safe sex.

Read Full Bio 
Topics
Photo of M. Keith Chen

9 Articles

Police cars and officers on highway at night. Research Brief / Bias

Smartphone Records Reveal Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Policing

Police patrol Black areas more frequently than others with similar homicide rates and income levels

News Coverage / Anderson Research

Why Remote Work Could Lead to Less Innovation

A new study suggests that when employees from one company run into employees from another company, creative sparks fly

Two men sit on a bench in a scene from the TV show "Silicon Valley." Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

The Role of Chance Encounters in Silicon Valley Innovation

Cellphone signals and patent citations approximate a theory’s long-sought paper trail

An overhead photo of two gentlemen on love seat one of whom is shaking hands with a man in an orange chair Research Brief / Mergers and Acquisitions

Face-to-Face Meetings, Before an Acquisition, Improve Outcomes for Buyers

Acquiring companies appear to get a better deal following frequent in-person meetings

View of a hurricane from space Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

Amid Unfounded ‘Hurricane Skepticism,’ Trump Voters Were Less Likely to Evacuate

Only after a Rush Limbaugh broadcast did evacuation rates diverge politically

Nurses washing their hands outdoors while wearing face masks Research Brief / COVID-19

Employees Work at Multiple Nursing Homes and Spread COVID-19

Smartphone GPS tracks staffers between facilities

People standing in line with face masks Research Brief / Politics

A Tool for Uncovering Voter Suppression

Smartphone data reveals that wait times at the polls are much longer for black people

Empty Times Square in New York in blue (left side); "Quarantine Overkill" sign held by a woman at a rally in red (right) Research Brief / COVID-19

How Clinton and Trump Voters Behave in — and Spread — a Pandemic

Estimates are based on smartphone data and precinct-level 2016 vote results

A family eating at the dinner table Research Brief / Politics

Holiday Meals Shortened by Political Divide

Cell phone location data and local voting records measure discord