William Harbaugh

William Harbaugh is a Professor in the Economics Department at the University of Oregon’s College of Arts and Sciences. He is the founder of the SAIL (Summer Academy to Inspire Learning) program and conducts pioneering research in neuroeconomics, experimental economics, and the economic behavior of children. His work integrates neuroscience, psychology, and economics to understand decision-making processes.

• Education: Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1995

His research interests focus on neuroeconomics, where he investigates the neural underpinnings of economic decisions, particularly altruism and charitable giving, using fMRI. His seminal 2007 Science paper showed that both personal monetary gain and charitable donations activate similar brain reward regions. In experimental economics, he explores risk attitudes, public goods, bargaining, and the endowment effect. A major theme is the economic behavior of children, where his studies demonstrate that children exhibit rational choice behavior and that preferences for fairness develop with age. His work often challenges and refines standard economic models using experimental data.

The recent articles highlight a consistent research trajectory in behavioral and experimental economics. They demonstrate a deep focus on testing the robustness of economic theories—such as expected utility, revealed preference, and the environmental Kuznets curve—using controlled experiments with both adults and children. A significant trend is the methodological scrutiny of how results depend on elicitation procedures, as seen in the 2010 paper on the fourfold pattern of risk attitudes. There is a strong interdisciplinary thread, particularly in neuroeconomics, merging brain imaging with economic decision tasks. The work on children’s behavior forms a unique and sustained subfield, exploring the developmental origins of economic preferences.

• Scientific Awards:
• Best in Show, 2009 Mayor's Art Show, Eugene Oregon (for 'Warm Glow' fabric brain art)

Harbaugh advises undergraduate honors students in economics, several of whom have co-authored academic papers and pursued careers in top graduate programs, the Federal Reserve, and law. He has not mentioned specific grants in the provided text, but his research involving fMRI and large-scale experiments suggests external funding. He is actively involved in teaching, offering courses like Behavioral and Experimental Economics (Econ 428/528) and graduate seminars.

He is the curator of the Museum of Scientifically Accurate Fabric Brain Art, an interdisciplinary project that translates neuroscience data into textile art. He also co-founded the SAIL program, an experiential learning initiative for low-SES youth, involving over 25 faculty and staff, which teaches economics, neuroscience, and physics. His research team includes long-term collaborators such as Kate Krause, Lise Vesterlund, Ulrich Mayr, and Jim Andreoni.