Faculty Profile
Behavior Economics Reseacher Connects Classwork to Real-World By Rune Torgersen
David Zuckerman is following a dream. “I’ve always wanted to go into academia,” he said. “My parents are both in academia, and so growing up, I saw a lot of perks with that lifestyle, like getting to research what interests you and having a flexible schedule.”
After finishing his PhD at Stanford University, Zuckerman went looking for a teaching position. In fall 2022 he found his calling at CWU. “Even more so than research, I like interacting with students
and teaching,” he said. “I find that really meaningful and fulfilling, so when I was on the job market, I targeted places with a focus on education, which of course meant Central was one of my top options. When I came for my interview, I was struck by just how friendly everyone was in the department. It was really collegial, and right away, I saw myself working here.” Zuckerman teaches material economics and principles of economics with a focus on connecting class discussions with real-world issues. He draws on his own academic experiences to create an environment that encourages discussion and interaction. “In the fall, for example, when we were talking about monopolies, there was this whole fiasco with Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and TicketMaster. I had my students listen to a podcast that broke
Zuckerman, an assistant professor in the Department of Economics, focuses his research on behavioral economics, which he describes as a hybrid between economics and psychology. “Standard economics typically assume that people are rational, and make careful, calculated decisions,” Zuckerman said. “We know in reality that that’s not the case, so behavioral economics tries to take these economic models and make them more realistic by assuming that people make mistakes, have biases, and care about things that standard economic theory might not take into consideration.” Specifically, his current research centers on crime and punishment, and what steps can be taken to satisfy our
David Zuckerman
collective sense of justice when someone is harmed. While the research is far from complete, it has already produced some fascinating findings. “What I find is that we value compensating the victim much more if the victim was intentionally harmed, as opposed to through some random accident. That’s when our sense of justice is violated, and that’s one of the big findings from this project.”
down how TicketMaster operates as a monopoly, which was a great way to get them engaged with the subject.” Zuckerman finds his position very meaningful. “Because I get to see firsthand the impact I’m making on students,” he said. “Research is great, but with this, with teaching, you’re talking and interacting with people in real time. I get the best of both worlds.”
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