Barnabás Szászi (Eötvös Loránd University): Generalizability of behavioral insights: from poverty alleviation to misperceptions of inequality

Abstract | In my talk, I will discuss the generalizability of behavioral insights by presenting two different lines of my work: 1) cash-transfer-based poverty alleviation programs' effect on the cognitive performance of the poor 2) the perception of inequality and its relation to redistribution. I will also talk about how the ideal behavioral insights-based interventions should be conducted in order to maximize both evidence accumulation and applicability.

Bio | I’m an Assistant Professor at Eotvos Lorand University, leading the work of the Behavioral Science lab. The primary goal of my research is to support vulnerable individuals and groups (families, the poor, and the sad) using behavioral and data science. I have obtained a dual degree in psychology and economics and finished my Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 2018. Since then, my work as a lead author has appeared in top psychology and social science journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Human Behaviour, Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, and eLife. I have won 13 scholarships and awards including the scholarship of the Hungarian Central Bank, the National Excellence Program, Bolyai, Campus Mundi, Eötvös, Rosztóczy, Fulbright (2x), and the Promising Researcher and the Rosak Tamas award. During my Ph.D., I was a visiting student researcher at Columbia University. I'm an incoming Fulbright scholar at Harvard Business School for 2023/24.