© ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy
Melisa Kurtis
Research Focus
My research investigates how moral concerns, information, trust, and institutional design shape decisions that people make collectively or delegate to others. I focus on AI governance, climate policy, and the political economy of beliefs, combining online experiments and surveys with formal modeling.
You can find more information on my website.
Academic Career
- Since 2023: PhD Candidate, Research Assistant, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, Bonn, Germany
- Since 2022: PhD Candidate, Research Assistant, University of Cologne, Germany
- 2026: Visiting PhD Researcher, Harvard University, USA (Host: Alex Chan)
- 2024: Visiting PhD Researcher, Harvard University, USA (Host: Alex Chan)
- 2019–2022: M.Sc. in Economic Research, University of Cologne, Germany
- 2017–2018: Erasmus Study Abroad, University of Birmingham, UK
- 2015–2019: B.Sc. in Business and Economics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
MPI Discussion Paper
(with Axel Ockenfels and Rastislav Rehák) Willing to act, failing to impact: Psychological and social drivers of voluntary climate action, MPI Discussion Paper 2025/13.