Syon Bhanot

Syon Bhanot
  • Adjunct Associate Professor

Contact Information

Research Interests: behavioral economics; experimental economics; public policy; public economics

Links: Personal Website

Overview

Syon Bhanot is an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Business Economics and Public Policy group at Wharton, and an Associate Professor of Economics at Swarthmore College. He holds a BA from Princeton University, and an MPP and PhD in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School. His research spans behavioral economics, public policy, and public administration, and primarily involves running randomized field experiments with a variety of public- and private-sector partners in the US and abroad (including the City of Philadelphia, the World Bank, the U.S. federal government, and the US Agency for International Development). In addition to his academic positions, Professor Bhanot is an Academic Affiliate at the Office of Evaluation Sciences, a Research Affiliate at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, a Senior Researcher at the Applied Cooperation Team, and a founding member of the Philadelphia Behavioral Science Initiative.

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Research

Selected recent publications

Bhanot, S.P., and S. Heller. 2022. Does Administrative Burden Deter Young People? Evidence from Summer Jobs Programs. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 5(1). (Link)

Bhanot, S.P., B. Crost, J. Leight, E. Mvukiyehe, and B. Yedgenov. 2021. Can Community Service Grants Foster Social and Economic Integration for Youth? A Randomized Trial in Kazakhstan. Journal of Development Economics, 153. (Link; PDF)

Bhanot, S.P. 2021. Isolating the Effect of Injunctive Norms on Conservation Behavior: New Evidence from a Field Experiment in California. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 163, 30-42. (Link; PDF)

Bhanot, S.P. 2021. Good for You or Good for Us?: A Field Experiment on Motivating Citizen Behavior Change. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 4(1). (Link)

Banker, S., S.P. Bhanot, and A. Deshpande. 2020. Poverty Identity and Preference for Challenge: Evidence from the U.S. and India. Journal of Economic Psychology, 76. (Link; PDF; Online Appendix)

Bhanot, S.P., and D. Hopkins. 2020. Partisan Polarization and Resistance to Elite Messages: Results from Survey Experiments on Social Distancing. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 3(2). (Link; PDF; Video Summary (3 minutes)) (Selected Media Coverage: Philadelphia Inquirer)

Bhanot, S.P., and C. Williamson. 2020. Financial Incentives and Herding: Evidence from Two Online Experiments. Southern Economic Journal, 86(4), 1559-1575. (Link; PDF; Audio Summary (5 mins))

Yoeli, E., J. Rathauser, S.P. Bhanot, M.K. Kimenye, E. Mailu, E. Masini, P. Owiti, and D. Rand. 2019. Digital Health Support in Treatment for Tuberculosis. The New England Journal of Medicine, 381(10), 986-987. (Link) (Selected Media Coverage: NY Times; SciTech Daily)

Bayer, A., S.P. Bhanot, and F. Lozano. 2019. Does Simple Information Provision Lead to More Diverse Classrooms?: Evidence from a Field Experiment on Undergraduate Economics. AEA Papers & Proceedings, 109, 110-114. (Link; PDF; Online Appendix)

Bhanot, S.P., J. Han and C. Jang. 2018. Workfare, Wellbeing and Consumption: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Kenya’s Urban Poor. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 149, 372-388. (Link; PDF)

Bhanot, S.P. 2017. Cheap Promises: Evidence from Loan Repayment Pledges in an Online Experiment. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 140, 226-246. (Link; PDF)

Bhanot, S.P. 2017. Rank and Response: A Field Experiment on Peer Information and Water Use Behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 62, 155-172. (Link; PDF; AudioSlides)

Kraft-Todd, G., E. Yoeli, S.P. Bhanot, and D. Rand. 2015. Promoting Cooperation in the Field. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 3, 96-101. (Link; PDF)

Teaching

All Courses

  • BDS5000 - Intro To Behav & Dec Sci

    In the past 50 years, social scientists have increasingly used insights from psychology to explore the limitations of the standard, economic model of rational decision-making--a field now known broadly as behavioral science. This course is an introduction to the central concepts of behavioral science, touching on related research in economics, psychology, political science, and more. We also touch on various practical implications of this work for practitioners, from businesspeople to policymakers to everyday people in their day-to-day lives. The topics covered include self-control, procrastination, fairness, cooperation, reference dependence, and choice under uncertainty. The course consists of live and asynchronous core lectures that introduce the central concepts in behavioral science to students, supplemented by a series of exciting guest lectures that bring some of the leading academic voices working in the behavioral sciences to the classroom to share their work and insights.

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