Sendhil Mullainathan

Sendhil Mullainathan
Mullainathan in 2014
Bornc. 1973 (age 50–51)
Tamil Nadu, India
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materCornell University (B.A.)
Harvard University (Ph.D.)
Known forBehavioral economics
Development economics
Corporate finance
AwardsMacArthur Fellow
Scientific career
FieldsEconomics, Behavioral economics
InstitutionsMIT 2024–
University of Chicago Booth School of Business 2018–2024
Harvard University 2004–2018
MIT 1999–2004
Doctoral advisorDrew Fudenberg
Lawrence Katz
Andrei Shleifer
Doctoral studentsEbonya Washington[1]
Benjamin Jones

Sendhil Mullainathan (pronunciationⓘ) (born c. 1973) is an American professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[2] He was a professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business from 2018-2024. He is the author of Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much[3] (with Eldar Shafir). He was hired with tenure by Harvard in 2004 after having spent six years at MIT.

Mullainathan is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and conducts research on development economics, behavioral economics, and corporate finance. He is co-founder of Ideas 42, a non-profit organization that uses behavioral science to help solve social problems, and J-PAL, the MIT Poverty Action Lab and has made extensive academic contributions through the National Bureau of Economic Research and has also worked in government at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In May 2018, he moved from Harvard to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, becoming the George C. Tiao Faculty Fellow.[4] In November 2018, he received the Infosys Prize (in Social Sciences category), one of the highest monetary awards in India that recognize excellence in science and research, for his contributions to the field of economics, especially behavioral economics.[5] In 2024, he moved back to MIT as a professor on joint appointment between the Department of Economics and the School of Engineering.[6]

Early life and career

Born in a small farming village in Tamil Nadu, India, Mullainathan moved to the Los Angeles area in 1980.[7][8] His father studied and later worked in aerospace engineering.[8] As security clearance laws in the US aerospace industry were tightened in the 1980s, his father lost his job.[8] His parents subsequently operated a video store.[8]

He received his B.A. in computer science, mathematics, and economics from Cornell University in 1993 and he completed his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University 1993–1998.[9]

Research contributions

Development economics
Economies by region
Economic growth theories
Fields and subfields
Lists

He has made substantial contributions to the field of behavioral economics as well as innovative additions to the literature on development topics, such as discrimination, corruption, and corporate governance. According to IDEAS/RePEc, he ranked 185th in September 2018 in terms of research among 54 233 registered economists (i.e, among the top 0.4%).[10]

His 2013 "Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function"[11] published in Science, compared farmers' performance on intelligence tests in the bleak and stressful days before harvest, to the period of abundance following the sale of produce. Remarkably, the same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance before harvest, when poor, compared with after harvest, when rich. The controlled study found that the stress associated with poverty impeded other behaviors.

As a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research, he produced numerous papers that link behavioral science and economics. The 2002 paper "Do Cigarette Taxes Make Smokers Happier",[12] written together with Jonathan Gruber, found an improvement in smokers' psychological state when cigarette taxes were hiked to provide disincentive to buy cigarettes.

A December 2007 paper studies corruption in obtaining driving licenses in Delhi.[13] On the average, individuals pay about twice the official amount to obtain a license and very few take the legally required driving test, resulting in many unqualified but licensed drivers. The magnitude of distortions in the allocation of licenses increases with citizens' willing to pay for licenses. The results support the view that corruption does not only transfer from citizens to bureaucrats but also distorts allocation. The paper also shows that partial anti-corruption measures have only a limited impact because players in this system adapt to the new environment. Specifically, a ban on agents at one regional transport office is associated with a high percentage of unqualified drivers overcoming the residency requirement and obtaining licenses at other license offices.

His influential 2004 paper "Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination" used a simple technique to measure labor market discrimination by switching the names at the top of resumes.[14] Controlling for other factors, Mullainathan and his co-authors found that applications with white sounding names attained 50% more callbacks. The experiment provides convincing evidence of implicit discrimination in hiring practices.

In collaboration with Marianne Bertrand, Mullainathan published a series of papers scrutinizing executive compensation. The studies explain that increasing financial reward for CEO performance is a more complicated matter than incentive. Factors may enable CEOs to gain from luck, manipulating committees (the Skimming Model) and decreased sector competition.[15][16][17]

His most-cited[18] paper is a statistical methodology article, coauthored with Marianne Bertrand and Esther Duflo, which shows that a statistical procedure that is commonly used in the empirical economics literature frequently drastically overstates the stastical significance of the results. The article, "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?"[19] shows that when a trend is occurring, a statistical test of whether there has been a "before and after" change regarding some event, such as the passage of a law, is likely to find that there has been a significant change due to the passage of the law even when the law had no effect on the trend.

Selected bibliography

Scholia has a profile for Sendhil Mullainathan (Q655590).

Books

  • Mullainathan, Sendhil; Kling, Jeffrey R.; Congdon, William J. (2012). Policy and choice: public finance through the lens of behavioral economics. Washington: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 9780815722588.
  • Mullainathan, Sendhil; Shafir, Eldar (2013). Scarcity: why having too little means so much. London: Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books. ISBN 9781846143458.

Journal articles

Papers

References

  1. ^ Washington, Ebonya (2003), Essays in public finance. Ph.D. dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  2. ^ Mullainathan, Sendil (2024). "MIT Economics". MIT Economics People. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  3. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Shafir, Eldar (2013). Scarcity: why having too little means so much. London: Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books. ISBN 9781846143458.
  4. ^ "Behavioral economist Sendhil Mullainathan to join Booth faculty as University Professor". UChicago News. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Infosys Prize – Laureates 2018 – Prof. Sendhil Mullainathan". www.infosys-science-foundation.com. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  6. ^ "School of Engineering welcomes new faculty". 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Is Alfred Marshall Passe?". Forbes. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d Feinberg, Cara (15 April 2015). "Harvard's Sendhil Mullainathan on behavior and poverty | Harvard Magazine". www.harvardmagazine.com.
  9. ^ "CV" (PDF). Harvard. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  10. ^ Top 10% Authors. Retrieved November 5th, 2018.
  11. ^ Mani, Anandi; Mullainathan, Sendhil; Shafir, Eldar; Zhao, Jiaying (2013). "Poverty Impedes Cognitive Function". Science. 341 (6149): 976–980. Bibcode:2013Sci...341..976M. doi:10.1126/science.1238041. PMID 23990553. S2CID 1684186.
  12. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Gruber, Jonathan (April 2002). "Do cigarette taxes make smokers happier?". NBER Working Paper. 8872. doi:10.3386/w8872.
  13. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Bertrand, Marianne; Djankov, Simeon; Hanna, Rema (2007). "Obtaining a driver's license in India: an experimental approach to studying corruption". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 122 (4): 1639–1676. doi:10.1162/qjec.2007.122.4.1639.
  14. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Bertrand, Marianne (September 2004). "Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination" (PDF). American Economic Review. 94 (4): 991–1013. doi:10.1257/0002828042002561.
  15. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Bertrand, Marianne (2001). "Are CEOs rewarded for luck? The ones without principals are". The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 116 (3): 901–932. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.721.5730. doi:10.1162/00335530152466269.
  16. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Bertrand, Marianne (May 2000). "Agents with and without principals". American Economic Review. 90 (2): 203–208. doi:10.1257/aer.90.2.203.
  17. ^ Mullainathan, Sendhil; Bertrand, Marianne (November 1998). "Is there discretion in wage setting? A test using takeover legislation". NBER Working Paper. 6807. doi:10.3386/w6807.
  18. ^ Bertrand, Marianne; Duflo, Esther; Mullainathan, Sendil (February 2004). "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In Difference Estimates?". Google Scholar. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  19. ^ Bertrand, Marianne; Duflo, Esther; Mullainathan, Sendil (February 2004). "How Much Should We Trust Differences-In-Differences Estimates?". Quarterly Journal of Economics. Retrieved 20 September 2024.

Read other articles:

José María Paz

Argentine politician and military For the Argentine footballer, see José María Paz (footballer). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.Find sources: José María Paz – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) José María PazJosé María Pa...

 

Avshalom Haviv

Avshalom HavivNama asliאבשלום חביבLahir18 Juni 1926Haifa, IsraelMeninggal29 Juli 1947 (usia 21)Akko, IsraelDikebumikanSafed, IsraelPengabdianIrgun Palmach Avshalom Haviv (Ibrani: אבשלום חביב; 18 Juni 1926 – 29 Juli 1947) adalah seorang anggota organisasi bawah tanah Irgun di Mandat Palestina, dan salah satu Olei Hagardom yang dieksekusi oleh otoritas Inggris pada pemberontakan Yahudi di Palestina. Penggantungannya bersama dengan dua anggota Irgun lainnya me...

 

Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Kabupaten Maros 2009–2014

Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat DaerahKabupaten Maros 2009-2014 ᨉᨛᨓ ᨄᨛᨓᨀᨗᨒ ᨑᨐ ᨉᨕᨛᨑ ᨀᨅᨘᨄᨈᨛ ᨆᨑᨚ 2009-2014 ᨉᨙᨓ ᨄᨙᨓᨀᨗᨒ ᨑᨐ ᨉᨕᨙᨑ ᨀᨅᨘᨄᨈᨙ ᨆᨑᨚ 2009-2014Periode 2009-2014JenisJenisUnikameral Jangka waktu5 tahunSejarahSesi baru dimulai20 Agustus 2009PimpinanKetuaHj. Andi Ermawati Nadjamuddin, S.H. [1] (Golkar) sejak 29 Oktober 2009 Wakil Ketua IIr. H. Muhammad Hatta Rahman, M.M. (2009-2010)[1]H. A...

Høyanger

Lambang kotamadya Høyanger ialah sebuah kotamadya di provinsi Sogn og Fjordane, Norwegia. Produk utama di Høyanger ialah aluminum. Kini Høyanger sedang mengubah diri dari kota industri murni menjadi kota produsen berbagai layanan. Nama Unsur pertama ini kemungkinan høy unsur terakhir ialah angr. Kata høy merujuk ke sisi bukit yang hijau di sekeliling fjord. Lambang Lambangnya berasal dari masa modern (1987). Artikel bertopik geografi atau tempat Norwegia ini adalah sebuah rintisan. Anda ...

 

Gendang telinga

Anatomi telinga Gendang telinga kanan Gendang telinga atau membrana tympani adalah selaput atau membran tipis yang memisahkan telinga luar dan telinga tengah. Ia berfungsi untuk menghantar getaran suara dari udara menuju tulang pendengaran di dalam telinga tengah. Gendang telinga secara anatomi dibagi 2 yaitu pars tensa (tegang) dan pars flaksida, Pars tensa, sebagain besar gendang telinga merupakan pars tensa, terdiri dari 3 lapis, bagian luar lanjutan kulit liang telinga, di tengah jaringan...

 

Asteroid

Asteroid, disebut juga planet minor atau planetoid, adalah benda berukuran lebih kecil daripada planet, tetapi lebih besar daripada meteoroid, umumnya terdapat di bagian dalam Tata Surya (lebih dalam dari orbit planet Neptunus). Asteroid berbeda dengan komet dari penampakan visualnya. Komet menampakkan koma (ekor) sementara asteroid tidak. Istilah ini secara historis ditujukan untuk semua objek astronomis yang mengelilingi matahari dan setelah diobservasi tidak memiliki karakteristik komet ak...

Provinsi Makkah

Provinsi MakkahLetak Provinsi Makkah di Arab SaudiKota terbesarJeddahLuas • Luas daratan160.000+ km2 (Formatting error: invalid input when rounding sq mi) • Luas perairan0 km2 (0 sq mi)  0%Ketinggian1.000 m (3,000 ft)Ketinggian tertinggi1.936 m (6,352 ft)Ketinggian terendah0 m (0 ft)Populasi (2010) • Total8,557,766 • Peringkat1stZona waktuUTC+3 (AST) Letak Provinsi M...

 

Partai Kebangsaan Merdeka

Partai Kebangsaan Merdeka Ketua umumKH Zaini Ahmad NoehSekretaris JenderalCornelius D RonowidjojoDibentuk18 Agustus 1998Kantor pusatJakartaIdeologiPancasilaPolitik IndonesiaPartai politikPemilihan umum Partai Kebangsaan Merdeka adalah salah satu partai politik di Indonesia. Partai ini dideklarasikan di halaman Monumen Proklamator Soekarno-Hatta, Jakarta. Partai ini didirikan oleh sembilan pilar, yakni pilar Islam, Kristen, Katolik, Hindu, Buddha, Penghayat Kepercayaan, Kerabat (peranakan Cina...

 

Alpen Rose

Alpen Roseアルペンローゼ(Arupen Rōze)GenreDrama, Sejarah, Romansa MangaPengarangMichiyo AkaishiPenerbitShogakukanMajalahCiaoDemografiShōjoTerbitApril 1983 – Mei 1986Volume9 Seri animeHonō no Alpen Rose: Judy & RandySutradaraHideto UedaProduserKenji YoshidaSkenarioHiroko NakaMitsuko NakaShigeru YanagawaSukehiro TomitaMusikJoe HisaishiStudioTatsunoko ProductionSaluranasliFuji TVTayang 6 April 1985 – 5 Oktober 1985Episode20  Portal anime dan manga Alpen Rose (アルペ...

1948 Texas gubernatorial election

American election 1948 Texas gubernatorial election ← 1946 November 2, 1948 1950 →   Nominee Beauford H. Jester Alvin H. Lane Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,024,160 177,399 Percentage 84.72% 14.67% County resultsJester:      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%Lane:      50–60% Governor before election Beauford ...

 

Ben Smith (ice hockey, born 1988)

American professional ice hockey player (born 1988) Not to be confused with Ben Smith (ice hockey coach). Ice hockey player Ben Smith Smith with the EHC München in May 2022Born (1988-07-11) July 11, 1988 (age 35)Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)Position Right wingShoots RightDEL teamFormer teams EHC MünchenChicago BlackhawksSan Jose SharksToronto Maple LeafsColorado AvalancheAdler MannheimR�...

 

Piccadilly line

London Underground line Piccadilly lineA Piccadilly line train at Russell SquareOverviewTerminiCockfostersUxbridgeHeathrow AirportStations53[1]Colour on mapDark blueWebsitetfl.gov.uk/tube/route/piccadilly/ ServiceTypeRapid transitSystemLondon UndergroundDepot(s) Cockfosters Northfields Rolling stock1973 StockRidership217.995 million (2019)[2] passenger journeysHistoryOpened15 December 1906; 117 years ago (1906-12-15)Last extension27 March 2008TechnicalLine le...

Hattan Bahebri

Saudi Arabian footballer (born 1992) Hattan Bahebri Bahebri with Saudi Arabia at the 2018 FIFA World CupPersonal informationFull name Hattan Sultan Ahmed Bahebri[1]Date of birth (1992-07-16) 16 July 1992 (age 31)[2]Place of birth Jeddah, Saudi ArabiaHeight 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]Position(s) WingerTeam informationCurrent team Al-ShababNumber 11Youth career2002–2011 Al-IttihadSenior career*Years Team Apps (Gls)2011–2016 Al-Ittihad 27 (0)2014–2016 ...

 

Plains Apache

Native America tribe in southwest Oklahoma Ethnic group Apache Tribe of OklahomaPlains ApacheNá'ishą[1]Vanessa Jennings, a Plains Apache/Kiowa/Gila River Pima artist and traditionalistTotal population2,263Regions with significant populationsUnited States (Oklahoma)LanguagesEnglish, formerly Plains Apache languageReligionIndigenous religion, Native American Church, ChristianityRelated ethnic groupsfellow Apache, Navajo, and Tsuutʼina[1] The Plains Apache are a small Southern...

 

El Jebel, Colorado

Census Designated Place in Colorado, United StatesEl Jebel, ColoradoCensus Designated PlaceEl Jebel sign.Location of the El Jebel CDP in Eagle County, Colorado.El JebelLocation of the El Jebel CDP in the United States.Coordinates: 39°24′18″N 106°05′31″W / 39.40500°N 106.09194°W / 39.40500; -106.09194 (El Jebel CDP, Colorado)[1]Country United StatesState ColoradoCountyEagle CountyGovernment[1] • Typeunincorporat...

بطولة العالم للدراجات على المضمار 1992

يفتقر محتوى هذه المقالة إلى الاستشهاد بمصادر. فضلاً، ساهم في تطوير هذه المقالة من خلال إضافة مصادر موثوق بها. أي معلومات غير موثقة يمكن التشكيك بها وإزالتها. (ديسمبر 2018) 39°30′02″N 0°25′38″W / 39.500416666667°N 0.42728611111111°W / 39.500416666667; -0.42728611111111 بطولة العالم للدراجات على المضم...

 

Zarina Screwvala

Zarina ScrewvalaLahirZarina Mehta1961 (umur 62–63)Washington, D.C., U.S.KebangsaanIndiaAlmamaterKolese St. Xavier, MumbaiPekerjaanWakil penemu, UTV Group COO of Hungama TVCEO of UTV BindassTempat kerjaWali Pelaksana dari Swades FoundationSuami/istriRonnie ScrewvalaAnak1 Zarina Screwvala (lahir Zarina Mehta, 1961) adalah seorang pengusaha dan dermawan India. Saat ini ia adalah Wali Pelaksana dari Swades Foundation,[1] sebuah yayasan yang didedikasikan untuk Pemberdayaan Ped...

 

Ordre de Michel le Brave

Ordre de Michel le BraveOrdinul Mihai Viteazul Ordre de 3e classe - Modèle de 1944 Décernée par Roumanie Type Médaille de mérite Éligibilité Militaires Décerné pour Participation à l'effort de guerre Statut Décerné en temps de guerre Chiffres Date de création 19162000 Première attribution 1916 Dernière attribution 1944Dissout en 1947 Importance Ordre de l'Étoile de Roumanie aucun Ruban de l'Ordre de Michel le Brave modifier  L'ordre de Michel le Brave (en roumain...

1537

1537 - MDXXXVII487 år sedan År1534 | 1535 | 153615371538 | 1539 | 1540 Årtionde1510-talet  | 1520-talet 1530-talet1540-talet | 1550-talet Århundrade1400-talet 1500-talet1600-talet Årtusende1000-talet Året Födda | AvlidnaBildanden | Upplösningar 1537 (MDXXXVII) var ett normalår som började en måndag i den Julianska kalendern. Händelser Januari 6 januari – Alessandro de Medici mördas. Mars 12 mars Staden Recife grundas ...

 

Ferdinand Magellan

Portuguese explorer (1480–1521) Magellan redirects here. For the railcar, see Ferdinand Magellan (railcar). For other uses, see Magellan (disambiguation). Ferdinand MagellanFerdinand Magellan, in a 16th- or 17th-century anonymous portraitBornFernão de Magalhãesc. 1480Northern Portugal[note 1]Died27 April 1521(1521-04-27) (aged 40–41)Chiefdom of Mactan(now Mactan, Philippines)Burial placeLost at warNationalityPortugueseKnown for The Magellan expedition Finding the Strai...