Alex Imas
Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and Vasilou Faculty Scholar
What Would Make Americans Eat Better?
Demand may be the key to healthier diets.
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Biography
Alex Imas is an Associate Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and a Vasilou Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where he has taught Negotiations and Behavioral Economics. He is an NBER Faculty Research Fellow and a CESifo Research Network Fellow. Previously, he was the William S. Dietrich II Assistant Professor of Behavioral Economics at Carnegie Mellon University, where he taught Behavioral Economics and Human Judgment and Decision Making.
Imas’ research spans a variety of topics across economics and psychology. He has explored the role of systemic factors and incorrect beliefs in discrimination, the prevalence of behavioral biases amongst expert and non-expert investors, and how to better motivate performance by incorporating psychology into incentives. His research has been published in the American Economic Review, Journal of Finance, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Quarterly Journal of Economics, and Management Science, among others.
Imas is the recipient of the New Investigator Award from the Behavioral Science and Policy Association, the Hillel Einhorn New Investigator Award from the Society of Judgment and Decision Making, the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award, and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship.
Imas was born in Bender, Moldova. He did his PhD in economics at the University of California, San Diego and earned a BA from Northwestern University. Prior to graduate school, Imas helped found a startup and co-authored several patents as part of its intellectual property strategy.
Selected Publications
"The Impact of Agency on Time and Risk Preferences," with A. Gneezy and A. Jaroszewicz. Accepted, Nature: Communications.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"The Dynamics of Discrimination: Theory and Evidence," with J. A. Bohren and M. Rosenberg. American Economic Review, 2019. (Lead Article)
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Opting In to Prosocial Incentives," with D. Schwartz, E. A. Keenan and A. Gneezy. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2019.
[Abstract] [Paper] [Online Appendix]
"Is Altruism Sensitive to Scope? The Role of Tangibility," with G. Loewenstein. American Economic Association: Papers and Proceedings, 2018.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"The Language of Discrimination: Using Experimental versus Observational Data," with J. A. Bohren and M. Rosenberg. American Economic Association: Papers and Proceedings, 2018.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Realization Effect: Risk-Taking After Realized versus Paper Outcomes," American Economic Review, 2016
[Abstract] [Paper] [Online Appendix] [Metadata]
"Do People Anticipate Loss Aversion?" with S. Sadoff and A. Samek. Management Science, 2016.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Conscience Accounting: Emotion Dynamics in Social Behavior," with U. Gneezy and K. Madarasz. Management Science, 2014.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"The Materazzi Effect and the Strategic Use of Anger," with U. Gneezy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Working for the 'Warm Glow': On the Benefits and Limits of Prosocial Incentives." Journal of Public Economics, 2013.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Experimental Methods: Eliciting Risk Preferences," with G. Charness and U. Gneezy. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2013.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Paying to be Nice: Costly Prosocial Behavior and Consistency," with A. Gneezy, L.D. Nelson, M.I. Norton and A. Brown. Management Science, 2012.
[Abstract] [Paper]
"Biased By Choice: How Access to Leverage Exacerbates Financial Mistakes," with R. Heimer. Revision requested at Review of Financial Studies
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Selling Fast and Buying Slow: Heuristics and Trading Performance of Institutional Investors," with K. Akepanidtaworn, R. Di Mascio, and L. Schmidt. Revision requested at Journal of Finance
[Abstract] [Working Paper] [Media Summaries: Bloomberg (Matt Levine), Bloomberg (Barry Ritholtz), The Economist]
"Mental Money Laundering: A Motivated Violation of Fungibility," with G. Loewenstein and C. K. Morewedge. Revision requested at the Journal of the European Economic Association
[Abstract] [Draft coming soon]
"Mental Accounting, Similarity, and the Timing of Outcomes," with E. Evers. Revision requested at Psychological Review
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Waiting to Choose," with M. A. Kuhn and V. Mironova. Revision requested, American Economic Journal: Microeconomics.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Undershooting in Asymmetric Resource Dilemmas," with C. Hsee, Y. Zeng, and X. Li. Revision requested at Management Science
[Abstract] [Draft coming soon]
"Preference Reversals Between One-Shot and Repeated Decisions: The Case of Regret," with D. Lame and A. Wilson. Revision requested from Economic Journal.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Ownership, Learning, and Beliefs," with S. Hartzmark and S. Hirshman.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Inaccurate Statistical Discrimination," with J. A. Bohren, K. Haggag and D. Pope.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Behavioral Food Subsidies," with A. Brownback and M. Kuhn.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Dynamic Inconsistency in Risky Choice: Evidence from the Lab and Field," with R. Heimer, Z. Iliewa and M. Weber.
[Abstract] [Working Paper]
"Lab in the Field: Measuring Preferences in the Wild," with U. Gneezy. In Handbook of Field Experiments, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, editors, 2017.
[Abstract] [Published Paper]
"Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Regulates Integrin avß3 Expression and Autocrine TGFß Signaling," with B. S. Pedjora, L. E. Kang, P. Carmeliet and A. M. Bernstein. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2009. [Published Paper]
"EEG-based Method for Biometric Identity Confirmation," with M. Milgramm. U.S. Patent No. 7,594,122. [Patent Document]
"EEG-based Method for Real Time Attitude Assessment," with M. Milgramm. U.S. Patent No. 7,570,991. [Patent Document]
"EEG-based Method for Attention and Productivity Monitoring," with M. Milgramm. U.S. Patent No. 7,574,254. [Patent Document]
2024 - 2025 Course Schedule
| Number | Course Title | Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 38918 | Behavioral Economics - Theory & the Lab | 2025 (Spring) |
Get Insights from Alex Imas in Chicago Booth Review
Why Paying Off Your Debt Sooner May Cost You More
People are just as impatient when it comes to paying money as receiving it.
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We’ve Been Underestimating Discrimination
New methods of measuring racism and sexism find a larger, systemic impact.
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