David Chavanne

David Chavanne is a Professor of Economics and Chair of the Department of Economics at Connecticut College. He joined the college in 2012 as an assistant professor and has since advanced to full professor. He also serves as the Entrepreneurship Pathway Co-Coordinator at the institution.

Dr. Chavanne received his educational training at:

• B.A. from College of the Holy Cross
• Ph.D. from George Mason University

Dr. Chavanne is a behavioral economist who specializes in experimental economics, behavioral economics, economics and philosophy, income redistribution, and law and economics. His research primarily focuses on how people's policy preferences are affected by perceptions of how luck and personal responsibility shape life situations. He uses surveys and experiments to better understand what drives perceptions of fairness, particularly examining how information about personal responsibility affects preferences for income redistribution and debt relief. His work also explores bargaining behavior and perceptions of fairness across different areas, with a significant portion of his recent research examining opioid addiction stigma and policy preferences related to healthcare and redistribution.

Dr. Chavanne's research demonstrates a consistent thread examining the intersection of moral psychology and economic decision-making, particularly how cognitive biases like the headwinds/tailwinds effect influence policy preferences. His work spans multiple disciplines including economics, psychology, public health, and law, with a growing focus on healthcare policy, addiction treatment, and redistribution mechanisms.

Dr. Chavanne teaches courses in behavioral finance, experimental economics, law and economics, and microeconomic theory. He has expressed interest in how economics can be integrated with other social sciences, philosophy and law, and how economic ideas can be communicated to people unfamiliar with, and resistant to, the economic way of thinking.