H Peyton Young
Ph.D., University of Michigan, FBA, Fellow of the Econometric Society
James Meade Professor of Economics
College or Institution: Nuffield College
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Research Interests
Summary: Social norms and institutions, game theory, learning in strategic environments
My current research is concerned with the diffusion of innovations. Why do some people adopt an innovation early on, and why do their choices lead others to adopt? Various explanations have been advanced in the literature, including inertia, conformity, contagion, and learning. It turns out that these factors lead to fundamentally different dynamical processes whose qualitative features can be tested empirically. I am currently studying the implications for specific historical cases, including the diffusion of hybrid corn among US farmers in the 1930s and 40s.
This is part of a broader research program on the evolution of norms, conventions, and other forms of social institutions. I am particularly interested in the interplay between norms and preferences, in the mechanisms by which norm shifts occur, and in the relative stability of different norms when some individuals do not adhere to them. The general approach, which is based on evolutionary game theory, is described in my book, Individual Strategy and Social Structure: An Evolutionary Theory of Institutions, Princeton University Press, 1998.
Courses Taught at the University
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Research Group(s)
Recent Working Papers
- The Hedge Fund Game: Incentives, Excess Returns, and Performance Mimics (2008)
- Learning by Trial and Error (2008)
- Innovation Diffusion in Heterogeneous Populations (2007)
- see more working papers by this author
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Category: Faculty