Pietro Ortoleva

Pietro Ortoleva is a Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, holding dual appointments in the Department of Economics and the School of Public and International Affairs. He specializes in behavioral economics, decision theory, and experimental methods, with a focus on stochastic choice, ambiguity aversion, and social norms. His work bridges theoretical models with empirical evidence, often involving cross-disciplinary collaborations in neuroscience and political science.

Ortoleva holds a Ph.D. in Economics from New York University (2009) and a Laurea (BA) in Economics from Università degli Studi di Torino (2004). He has held faculty positions at Columbia University and the California Institute of Technology prior to joining Princeton in 2017.

His research explores how individuals process uncertainty, make decisions under risk, and respond to social and cognitive biases. Notable contributions include studies on caution in decision-making, non-Bayesian updating models, and the role of reference points in economic behavior. He has published in top journals like Econometrica, Journal of Political Economy, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Ortoleva has received grants from the National Science Foundation for projects on incomplete preferences, stochastic choice, and the empirical connections between non-standard economic behaviors. He currently serves as Coeditor of the American Economic Review and has held editorial roles at the Journal of Economic Theory and Journal of Political Economy.

His teaching includes advanced courses such as Microeconomics for Policymakers (SPI 511b) and Microeconomic Theory I (ECO 501), reflecting his commitment to integrating theoretical rigor with policy relevance. Office hours are by appointment via email or WASE.