Bandit algorithms to personalize educational chatbots
To emulate the interactivity of in-person math instruction, we developed MathBot, a rulebased chatbot that explains math concepts, provides practice questions, and offers tailored feedback.
Research
The accuracy, equity, and jurisprudence of criminal risk assessment
Jurisdictions across the country, including the federal government through its recently enacted First Step Act, have begun using statistical algorithms (also called “instruments”) to help determine an
An Ounce of Prevention
I look at prevention through an economic lens and make three main points. First, those advocating preventive measures are often asked how much money a given measure saves. This question is misguided.
A megastudy of text-based nudges encouraging patients to get vaccinated at an upcoming doctor’s appointment
Many Americans fail to get life-saving vaccines each year, and the availability of a vaccine for COVID-19 makes the challenge of encouraging vaccination more urgent than ever.
Personal Narratives Build Trust Across Ideological Divides
Lack of trust is a key barrier to collaboration across ideological divides.
When Deliberation Produces Persuasion rather than Polarization: Measuring and modeling Small Group Dynamics in a Field Experiment
This article proposes a new statistical method to measure persuasion within small groups, and applies this approach to a large-scale randomized deliberative experiment.
The Growing Importance of Decision-Making on the Job
Machines increasingly replace people in routine job tasks.
How Economists and Non-Economists Can Get Along
Understanding the advantages and limitations of economists’ methods clarifies the value they can add to analysis of non-economic questions.
The Power of Experiments: Decision Making in a Data-Driven World
How tech companies like Google, Airbnb, StubHub, and Facebook learn from experiments in our data-driven world—an excellent primer on experimental and behavioral economics Have you logged into Facebo
Nudges and choice architecture in organizations: New frontiers
The 2009 publication of the best-selling book Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein sparked enormous interest in how choice architecture and
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