Johannes Haushofer's research interests lie at the intersection of neurobiology, behavioural economics, and development economics. His research asks whether poverty has particular psychological and neurobiological consequences, and whether these consequences, in turn, affect economic behaviour. To answer these questions, he combines laboratory experiments with randomised controlled trials of development programmes in areas such as health insurance and unconditional cash transfers in Kenya and Sierra Leone. In 2011 Johannes started the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics in Nairobi, a research facility for behavioural economics studies with respondents from the Nairobi slums. Johannes has a BA in Psychology, Physiology and Philosophy from Oxford, a PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard, and a PhD in Economics from Zurich.
