ERIM recognises researchers Erasmus School of Economics

Top Article Award presented to Chen Li

Associate Professor Chen Li was presented the ERIM Top Article Award for her paper titled Randomize at Your Own Risk: On the Observability of Ambiguity Aversion, which was published in the Journal of the Econometric Society. When people face several decisions, some consider each one in isolation or integrate them into a single optimisation problem, but each option may yield a different decision according to the conditions. Chen Li’s research investigated whether the random incentive system in experiments that measure ambiguity aversion provides a hedge against ambiguity, making ambiguity‐averse subjects who integrate behave as if they were ambiguity neutral.

The jury commented:"One of the greatest feats of social science is to take on the complexities of human behaviour and cognition and to capture these in exceedingly simple experiments. Together with her co-authors Aurelien Baillon and Yoram Halevy, this is precisely what Dr Chen Li has done in this clever experimental article. Theoretical interest in the interplay between randomisation and ambiguity has long been strong but the translation to experimental work calls upon researchers to meet the very practical challenge of making respondents reveal their ambiguity attitudes. Dr Chen Li has managed to disentangle whether individuals are prone to isolate or integrate multiple decisions when these confront them simultaneously. The article offers an exemplary view of the latest generation of experiments to be used in behavioural economics.’"

ERIM Open Science Award presented to Thomas Peeters

The Open Science Award, which recognises researchers who have embraced open science principles and practices, was presented to Associate Professor Thomas Peeters. The jury commented that Peeters is an open science advocate and champion on many levels: "First, he has made open science the default for the way in which he himself practices science, as he ensures that the data and code underlying his publications is FAIR and available to anyone who takes an interest in them. Second, Thomas also shares his knowledge of and enthusiasm for open science in the classroom, and he is determined to instill the ethos of open science in future generations of college graduates and scientists. Third, he has always seen the general public as an important stakeholder, and he has long made great efforts to bring his insights and analyses as a sports economist to a general audience, thereby broadening the scope of open science from scientist-on-scientist to a meaningful dialogue between scientist and society. Fourth, he has been a very active ambassador for open science at both school and university levels, leading and participating in important taskforces."

Phyllis Wan winner of the Outstanding Performance by A Young Researcher Award

Phyllis Wan of the Econometric Institute was presented the Outstanding Performance by A Young Researcher Award. Her work was published in the Journal of Econometrics and in 2022 she received a Veni grant in 2022. The jury commented:"Phyllis Wan received a VENI grant in 2022 to study data-driven pattern recognition in multivariate extremes. This is an amazing feat in its own right, but the theme of the grant is also a good way of understanding her broader scholarship. Modelling extreme events is challenging, precisely because they are low base rate phenomena, yet their effect on society is also by definition exceptional. Financial crises, changing weather patterns, and developments in the built environment all have a massive impact on the way we live our lives, but they cannot be captured by traditional statistical models. Her work helps us understand extremes better by detecting how they cluster, by understanding how they interact, and by reducing their dimensionality. The jury congratulates Dr Wan for developing such a tantalising and inspiring research agenda."