Standard economics education has been slow to incorporate the findings of behavioral economics into its core curriculum.
A large portion of the American workforce (est. 40%) lacks access to employer-sponsored retirement plans, limiting the reach of successful behavioral interventions.
The 'bias blind spot' makes it difficult for individuals, including professionals, to recognize and correct their own systematic errors in judgment.
While policies like automatic enrollment are successful, many workers cash out small 401(k) balances when changing jobs, negating the long-term benefits.
Opportunities Identified
Developing investment strategies that systematically exploit the predictable behavioral errors made by other market participants.
Expanding the use of behavioral 'nudges' and smart defaults in public policy to improve outcomes in savings, health, and other domains.
Further research into the decision-making of institutional investors to identify and capitalize on market inefficiencies driven by 'smart money' biases.
Designing better systems for retirement savings, such as automatic rollovers, to preserve capital for workers as they move between jobs.