Research contributions Sendhil Mullainathan

he has made substantial contributions field of behavioural economics. has made innovative additions literature on development topics, such discrimination, corruption, , corporate governance.

his 2013 poverty impedes cognitive function published in science, compared farmers performance on intelligence tests in bleak , stressful days before harvest, period of abundance following sale of produce. remarkably, same farmer shows diminished cognitive performance before harvest, when poor, compared after harvest, when rich. controlled study found stress associated poverty impeded other behaviors.

as research associate national bureau of economic research, produced numerous papers link behavioral science , economics. 2002 paper cigarette taxes make smokers happier , written jonathan gruber, found improvement in smokers psychological state when cigarette taxes hiked provide disincentive buy cigarettes.

a december 2007 paper studies corruption in obtaining driving licenses in delhi. on average, individuals pay twice official amount obtain license , few take legally required driving test, resulting in many unqualified licensed drivers. magnitude of distortions in allocation of licenses increases citizens willing pay licenses. results support view corruption not transfer citizens bureaucrats distorts allocation. paper shows partial anti-corruption measures have limited impact because players in system adapt new environment. specifically, ban on agents @ 1 regional transport office associated high percentage of unqualified drivers overcoming residency requirement , obtaining licenses @ other license offices.

the 2004 study used simple technique measure labor market discrimination switching names @ top of resumes. controlling other factors, mullainathan , co-authors found applications white sounding names attained 50% more callbacks. experiment provides convincing evidence of implicit discrimination in hiring practices.

in collaboration marianne bertrand, mullainathan published series of papers scrutinizing executive compensation. studies explain increasing financial reward ceo performance more complicated matter incentive. factors may enable ceos gain luck, manipulating committees (the skimming model) , decreased sector competition.