Holger Gerhardt

Holger Gerhardt is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Economics, Institute for Applied Microeconomics, University of Bonn, and serves as Lab Manager at BonnEconLab. He is affiliated with the Center for Economics and Neuroscience (CENs) and ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy. His research bridges economics, psychology, and neuroscience to investigate human decision-making under risk, time, and social contexts.

• Ph.D. in Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (summa cum laude)
• Diplom-Volkswirt (M.Sc. equivalent), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

His research focuses on experimental and behavioral economics, with strong emphasis on neuroeconomics. Key interests include risk and time preferences, loss aversion, cognitive load effects, social decision-making, and the neurochemical modulation of behavior via oxytocin. He employs experimental methodologies, including neuroimaging and pharmacological interventions, to understand the psychological and neural mechanisms behind economic choices.

His recent publications (2020–2024) reveal a consistent focus on preference estimation, social discounting, emotional modulation of risk, and neurochemical influences on norm compliance. His work appears in top journals such as Review of Economic Studies, PNAS, and Frontiers in Psychology, often using innovative experimental designs, including online platforms and neuroeconomic paradigms.

• WWG Prize for best diploma degree (2004/05 winter term)

Dr. Gerhardt advises and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams across neuroscience and economics. He has not received specific grant mentions in the provided text but leads experimental infrastructure as Lab Manager. He is actively involved in ongoing research, including recent 2024 working papers on preference parameter estimation. He is associated with the BonnEconLab, a key experimental economics laboratory supporting behavioral and neuroeconomic research at the University of Bonn.