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Morten Lau

Professor

Subjects
Microeconomics Economics Savings

Primary research areas

Risk and Time Pref­er­ences in Eco­nom­ic Be­ha­vi­or
My re­search ex­plores how in­di­vidu­als make de­cisions in­volving un­cer­tainty and trade-offs over time. Us­ing ex­per­i­ment­al and field-based meth­ods, I es­tim­ate key be­ha­vi­or­al para­met­ers such as risk aver­sion and dis­count rates. These in­sights have been ap­plied to do­mains in­clud­ing in­sur­ance be­ha­vi­or, health choices, and gambling, help­ing to in­form both eco­nom­ic the­ory and pub­lic policy.
Be­ha­vi­or­al and Ex­per­i­ment­al Eco­nom­ics
I em­ploy ex­per­i­ment­al meth­ods and struc­tur­al eco­no­met­ric mod­els to in­vest­ig­ate de­vi­ations from clas­sic­al eco­nom­ic as­sump­tions. This in­cludes work on cu­mu­lat­ive pro­spect the­ory, tem­por­al in­con­sist­ency, and be­ha­vi­or­al noise in de­cision-mak­ing. My re­search con­trib­utes to im­prov­ing the de­script­ive and pre­dict­ive power of eco­nom­ic mod­els.
Field Ex­per­i­ments on Eco­nom­ic Pref­er­ences and Be­ha­vi­or
I design and im­ple­ment large-scale field ex­per­i­ments to study eco­nom­ic pref­er­ences and be­ha­vi­or­al pat­terns in real-world con­texts. These ex­per­i­ments have ex­amined top­ics such as am­bi­gu­ity aver­sion, lon­git­ud­in­al con­sist­ency in de­cision-mak­ing, and the be­ha­vi­or­al traits of en­tre­pren­eurs.

Ex­plor­ing hu­man be­ha­vi­or to im­prove eco­nom­ic mod­els

I study how people make decisions under risk, uncertainty, and over time—using experimental and field-based methods to better understand real-world economic behavior. My work contributes to developing more realistic and robust economic models that reflect how individuals and groups actually behave. 

This research supports areas such as insurance design, retirement planning, and the prevention of problem gambling. It helps policymakers and organizations design better interventions by uncovering the motivations and constraints behind economic choices. 

I am particularly motivated by the challenge of bridging the gap between theory and behavior. My projects often involve large-scale field experiments and collaborations across countries and disciplines. 

Links

Outside activities

Durham Uni­ver­sity, UK, Pro­fess­or, part-time , 2013 - on­go­ing

Pro­fess­or, part-time, De­part­ment of Eco­nom­ics and Fin­ance, Durham Uni­ver­sity Busi­ness School

Uni­ver­sity of Cape Town, South Africa, Hon­or­ary Pro­fess­or , 2023 - on­go­ing

Hon­or­ary Pro­fess­or, School of Eco­nom­ics

New Zea­l­and Ter­tiary Edu­ca­tion Com­mit­tee, Mem­ber , 2018 - 2019

Mem­ber, Busi­ness and Eco­nom­ics Pan­el, Per­form­ance-Based Re­search Fund (PBRF)