October 02, 2025

Colin Camerer: Econ's Neurovisionary

45 minutes

An absorbing conversation featuring Colin Camerer (CASBS fellow, 1997-98), among the world's most accomplished scholars in both behavioral economics and neuroeconomics, with economist Stephanie Wang (2024-25). Camerer discusses his groundbreaking work on the neuroeconomics of self-control and habit formation; offers insights on generating ideas for, building, then scaling behavioral models; and explains why neuroscience remains a wide-open field awaiting the contributions of so-far mostly reluctant economists and other social scientists.

COLIN CAMERER: Caltech faculty page | Camerer research group | on Google Scholar | Wikipedia page | bio at the Decision Lab | bio at MacArthur Foundation |

STEPHANIE WANG: Pitt faculty page | Personal website | on Google Scholar | CASBS bio |

Works discussed or mentioned in this episode:

C. Camerer, Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction. Princeton University Press, 2003.

C. Camerer, "Can Asset Markets Be Manipulated? A Field Experiment with Racetrack Betting," Journal of Political Economy, 1998.

C. Camerer, et al., "The Golden Age of Social Science," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2021.

C. Camerer, et al., "A Neural Autopilot Theory of Habit: Evidence from Consumer Purchases and Social Media Use," Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 2024.

S. Wang, C. Camerer, et al., "Looming Large or Seeming Small? Attitudes Toward Losses in a Representative Sample," Review of Economic Studies, 2025.

F. Ramsey, "Truth and Probability" (1926), published in F. Ramsey, The Foundations of Mathematics and Other Logical Essays (1931)

U. Malmendier, S. Nagel, "Depression Babies: Do Macroeconomic Experiences Affect Risk Taking?" Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2011.

M. Cobb, The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future of Neuroscience, Basic Books, 2020.

M. Gaetani, "CASBS in the History of Behavioral Economics," CASBS website, 2018.

Also of interest:

S. Wang, et al., eds., "Mindful Economics: A Special Issue in Honor of Colin Camerer," Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, forthcoming.