Many individuals, adults, adolescents, and children engage in a host of risky behaviors that could have significant ramifications in the short-term and long-term. These behaviors often involve a trade-off between short-term benefits and long-term costs, both subjectively perceived. Examples of such behaviors include crime and delinquency, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, suicidal behavior, reckless driving and driving under the influence, underage sexual activity and sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and poor diets and sedentary lifestyles leading to obesity. These behaviors are major source of preventable deaths and impose substantial costs on those who engage in them and society.

The meeting will bring together economists and researchers from other disciplines who work on the analysis of risky behaviors. We seek to advance understanding of the causes and consequences of risky behaviors, and to evaluate policies aimed to mitigate or manage the cost of these behaviors. We seek high quality academic work that enriches, refines, and challenges our understanding of the broad array of issues related to the analysis of risky behaviors. Papers should be unpublished at the time of submission.

The highlight of the 2017 meeting is a keynote lecture to be delivered by Professor Eric Johnson, Columbia University, on “Why Is Insurance so Difficult for Consumers?” He is the Norman Eig Professor of Business at the Columbia Business School, and has published widely in marketing, psychology, decision sciences, economics and public policy:

www8.gsb.columbia.edu/cbs-directory/detail/ejj3.

He is also the Director of the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia:

www8.gsb.columbia.edu/decisionsciences/