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Jaroslaw Grygolec A Ph.D. Candidate in Economics
University of Minnesota
Department of Economics
Last updated: January 20, 2008
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Research Interests:
Neuroeconomics, Experimental Economics, Game Theory, Behavioral Finance
You can find here information on my research projects. The first three papers will be included into my dissertation. Comments welcome!
Job Market Paper
"A Neuroeconomic Study of Social Observability and Personal Responsibility in Decision Making: An fMRI Experiment," with Giorgio Coricelli and Aldo Rustichini. DOWNLOAD
We designed the fMRI experiment to investigate whether and how nature of social observability (private vs. social), degree of responsibility (external vs. personal) and their interactions influence the evaluation of outcomes in a simple decision problem. Nature of social observability and degree of responsibility matter in the process of outcome evaluation, as the outcomes can influence the social ranking of the decision-maker by providing information about his wealth and ability, and can be used for learning. The analysis of behavioral data shows that the very same positive outcome is more desirable if it is socially observable rather than privately, and in case of personal rather than external responsibility. There is also the positive interaction between social observability and personal responsibility. The results of brain data analysis conform to behavioral findings. If outcomes are socially observable rather than just privately we find increased activity in Nucleus Accumbens, a part of neural reward system, and Brodmann Areas (BA) 6 and 8, both implicated in the process of attributing mental states to others. In situations ensuing personal rather than external responsibility we find increased activation in two parts of neural reward system: orbito-frontal cortex (OCF) and putamen. Both behavioral and neural findings imply that social observability and personal responsibility can play the role of motivating factors for human competition. This neuroeconomic study suggests that a plausible positive theory of choice should incorporate the effects of observability and responsibility.
Formerly: "Envy and Regret Matters in Decision-Making: fMRI Evidence"
"The Relative Role of Social Comparisons and Imitation in Decision-Making: A Neuroeconomic Study," with Aldo Rustichini. (work in progress)
The We investigate to what extent social comparisons and imitation motivate human decision-making. These forces seem to drive behavior in the opposite directions. On the one hand the desire to be on top may push people to differentiate themselves from others, and on the other imitation allows copying successful actions of high performers leading most likely to high payoffs. We study the relative strength of social comparisons and imitation. We hypothesize that there is a gender difference with social comparisons to drive behavior more strongly in men than women. In general, this studyis meant to shed light on the underlying forces behind competition and learning in social environment.
"Methods and Findings of Neuroeconomics"
The objective of this paper is to present methods of neuroeconomics, review the literature in the area, and describe the author’s research agenda. Economics was and still is dominated by the “as if” approach, in which behavioral realism of model’s implications receives the most attention. However, recent technological progress in brain scanning techniques has allowed examining both behavioral and biological plausibility of economic theories. We review neuroeconomic findings on learning, choice under uncertainty, inter-temporal choice and game theory. Finally, the author’s research agenda in neuroeconomic studies of social interactions is outlined.
"An Introductory Rationing of a New Product as a Signal of High Quality"
We study a problem of a monopolist introducing a new experience good into the market under asymmetric information about quality. We show that introductory rationing can be used as a credible signal of high quality by a profit maximizing monopolist. We highlight, that this signaling mechanism is especially suitable for durable goods. It can be thought of as creating repeat sales in the market for durable goods.
New projects - more information soon:
"Imitation in Financial Markets"
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