Kevin A McCabe

Kevin A. McCabe is a Professor of Economics and Law at George Mason University, affiliated with the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science (ICES), the Krasnow Institute of Advanced Study, the Mercatus Center, and the Center for the Study of Neuroeconomics. He holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania (1985) and serves as a Distinguished Research Scholar at the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics (IFREE). His work bridges experimental economics, neuroscience, and computational modeling, focusing on decision-making processes, trust, and institutional design.

McCabe’s research interests include neuroeconomics (studying neural correlates of economic decisions), computational economics (modeling market systems and agent-based simulations), and experimental analysis of legal and institutional frameworks. He has contributed to understanding trust dynamics in social exchanges, strategic behavior in markets, and the implications of cognitive biases in economic outcomes.

His notable contributions include pioneering studies on the neuroscience of trust (using fMRI to observe brain activity during reciprocal exchanges), and computational platforms for simulating economic systems. He has supervised eight PhD students, with recent advisees exploring cryptocurrencies, virtual worlds in experiments, and institutional trustworthiness.

McCabe’s work intersects law and economics, examining how legal incentives shape human behavior through neuroeconomic perspectives. He has secured major grants investigating mechanisms like collaborative meritocracies, property rights in bargaining, and the impact of litigation financing rules on settlements.

His interdisciplinary affiliations include leadership roles in neuroeconomic research centers, emphasizing the application of cognitive science to economic and legal problems. McCabe continues to advance experimental methods in both virtual and real-world contexts to address complex social and economic challenges.