Sacha Goerg

Sacha Goerg
Name	Sacha Goerg
Occupation	Economist; Academic
Known for	Behavioral economics; Experimental economics; Public economics

Sacha Goerg is an economist and academic known for work in experimental economics, behavioral economics, and public economics. He has held faculty positions at European and international research institutions and contributed to empirical studies on cooperation, taxation, redistribution, and social preferences. His research integrates laboratory experiments, field studies, and theoretical modeling to address policy-relevant questions in welfare, taxation, and collective action.

Early life and education

Goerg completed undergraduate and graduate studies in economics and related fields at institutions in Europe and North America, receiving foundational training in microeconomic theory, econometrics, and experimental methods. He pursued doctoral research that combined laboratory experimentation with applied economic questions, engaging with research groups and doctoral supervisors active in experimental economics, behavioral economics, and public economics. During his formative years he participated in seminars and workshops organized by research centers and networks linking universities across Europe, the United States, and Australia, interacting with scholars associated with institutions such as the London School of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Chicago, Yale University, Stanford University, University College London, and the University of Bonn.

Academic career

Goerg has held academic appointments and visiting positions at research universities and policy-oriented institutes, contributing to departments and centers with emphases on experimental methods, behavioral science, and public policy. He has been affiliated with economics departments, business schools, and interdisciplinary research centers that host programs in behavioral economics, experimental economics, and public economics. His career includes collaborations with faculty and researchers at institutions such as the University of Zurich, New York University, Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Munich, Humboldt University of Berlin, and the European University Institute. He has participated in research networks and editorial activities for journals and professional associations connected to the Econometric Society, American Economic Association, European Economic Association, and Royal Economic Society.

Research and contributions

Goerg’s research agenda spans experimental investigations of social preferences, taxation and redistribution, public goods, and cooperation. He has designed and implemented laboratory experiments and framed field interventions to study behavioral responses to tax instruments, public goods provision, and contract design, drawing on literatures in behavioral economics, experimental economics, and public economics. His empirical work frequently employs controlled laboratory settings in which subjects face strategic interactions influenced by institutions such as voting mechanisms, taxation schemes, and contribution rules, connecting to theoretical models from microeconomic theory, mechanism design, social choice theory, and game theory.

Key contributions include empirical evidence on how social preferences and fairness considerations shape responses to progressive and regressive tax systems, experiments that illuminate voluntary contributions to collective undertakings under varying institutional rules, and studies that test predictions from models of reciprocity, inequality aversion, and altruism. His work engages with literature on redistribution and welfare economics, linking experimental outcomes to normative questions addressed by scholars associated with the fields of public choice, social welfare, and political economy. Collaborations with authors active in experimental methodology and applied theory have produced findings cited in policy discussions on taxation, social insurance, and the behavioral foundations of compliance.

Goerg has also advanced experimental techniques and research design, contributing to methodological debates about external validity, incentive compatibility, and treatment effect interpretation in laboratory and field experiments. His interdisciplinary collaborations span psychology, political science, and behavioral public policy, interfacing with research programs at institutes and centers devoted to behavioral insights and evidence-based policymaking, including think tanks and government research units.

Teaching and mentorship

As a faculty member and lecturer, Goerg has taught courses and seminars at undergraduate and graduate levels covering experimental economics, behavioral economics, microeconomics, econometrics, and public economics. He has supervised doctoral dissertations and master's theses, mentoring students who have gone on to positions in academia, government research agencies, and international organizations. His teaching integrates hands-on experimental sessions, replication studies, and empirical projects that train students in laboratory protocol, data collection, and econometric analysis. He has organized workshops and summer schools in experimental methods, contributing to capacity building in networks connecting young researchers to senior scholars from institutions such as the Institute for Advanced Study, Max Planck Institutes, Centre for Economic Policy Research, and national research councils.

Awards and honors

Goerg’s work has been recognized by research grants, fellowships, and invited positions from funding bodies and academic institutions that support experimental and behavioral research. He has received competitive grants, research fellowships, and awards that acknowledge contributions to empirical economics and methodological innovation. His recognition includes invitations to present at international conferences and policy forums hosted by organizations such as the Econometric Society, American Economic Association, European Economic Association, Royal Economic Society, and professional associations focused on behavioral science and public policy.

Selected publications

- Experimental studies of taxation, redistribution, and social preferences, appearing in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes that focus on behavioral and experimental methods. - Laboratory evidence on public goods provision and cooperation under varying institutional rules, published in journals addressing experimental economics and public policy. - Methodological contributions to experimental design and external validity debates, reported in handbooks and methodological compilations used by scholars and practitioners in behavioral research.

Category:Economists Category:Experimental economists Category:Behavioral economists