Behavioral Economics of Crime and Conflict
Independent Research Group
How come that we as humans are those social animals that became uniquely cooperative, cultural, and civilized? How come that, at the exact same time, we are our own worst enemy, dehumanizing, subjugating, exploiting, and aggressing each other? And, most importantly: How can we prevent the conflicting interests permeating all human societies from escalating into segregation, suppression, violence, and war?
The group’s research contributes to answering these fundamental questions. We leverage our methodological expertise in behavioral economics, especially formal modelling, behavioral experiments, and applied microeconomics, to study the dark sides of human behavior – for example: discrimination, exploitation, violence, and conflict. In addition, we provide economic analyses and policy recommendations in related applied contexts. We are a young and highly dedicated interdisciplinary research team striving to conduct cutting-edge, theory-driven, and transparent research in compliance with the standards of Open Science.
Photo: © iStock.com/Dontstop
Projects
Head of project: Hannes Rusch
Chattel slavery and other forms of collaborative exploitation are with us since ancient times, inflicting unfathomable suffering on countless generations of victims. And even though slavery is outlawed globally today, its modern-day successors continue to cause severe harm for millions.
more
Head of project: Hannes Rusch
Opportunities in life in Europe de facto hinge on group memberships that de jure should not matter for individual outcomes – prompting EC president Ursula von der Leyen to press for renewed efforts to answer the question: “Why do racism and discrimination endure in our societies?”
more
Contributors / Researchers: Hannes Rusch, Julia Teufel
In the applied project “PV,” we are transferring findings from a previous research collaboration within the framework of the EU-funded project “DISGRID” into a practical application. The aim now is to tailor the training of future generations of police officers at the University of Applied Police Sciences Saxony-Anhalt (‚FH-POL-LSA‘) with the help of…
more
Heads of project: Matthias Burghart, Hannes Rusch, Isabel Thielmann
Can psychometric testing to assess individual differences usefully complement the existing selection procedures used by state police forces in Germany? – State police forces in Germany receive thousands of applications each year and must select the most suitable candidates for police service. This project evaluates current selection…
more
