Aric Shafran

Aric Shafran is a Professor at California Polytechnic State University specializing in environmental economics, experimental economics, and decision-making under risk and uncertainty. He is affiliated with the WUI Fire Institute at Cal Poly and leads ongoing research on wildfire risk economics. Shafran founded Cal Poly's experimental economics laboratory where he conducts field experiments on productivity systems and laboratory studies on strategic behavior under risk.

Education:

• Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics, University of Colorado at Boulder
• Master of Engineering and B.S. in Computer Science (magna cum laude), Cornell University

His research integrates experimental methods with real-world economic challenges, particularly in environmental contexts. Current projects examine behavioral responses to wildfire threats through self-protection experiments and analyze incentive structures in labor markets via field experiments on piece-rate systems. His work bridges theoretical economics with practical policy applications in disaster management and resource allocation.

Scientific Awards:

• Fellow in the “Enabling the Next Generation of Hazards and Disaster Researchers” program sponsored by the National Science Foundation
• Graduate Award for Public Policy Research
• Reuben A. Zubrow Award for Economics Research

Professor Shafran has secured substantial research funding from major agencies including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, CAL FIRE, California Air Resources Board, NSF National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics, and U.S. Department of Defense. He actively disseminates findings through academic conferences and university seminars while teaching specialized courses that integrate computational methods with economic theory.

He established and continues to direct Cal Poly's experimental economics laboratory, which supports both field-based and controlled laboratory research on decision-making processes under uncertainty, with particular emphasis on environmental and disaster-related economic behaviors.