Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Jan-Emmanuel De Neve
Associate Professor of Economics and Strategy at Saïd Business School and a Fellow of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford

Recent advances in wellbeing economics

Biography

Jan’s research interests are in behavioural economics and political economy. His research has been published in academic outlets such as Nature, Science, The Review of Economics and Statistics, Psychological Science, and The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The underlying theme throughout his research is the study of human wellbeing. This ongoing research agenda has led to new insights in the relationship between happiness and income, economic growth, and inequality. Significant new findings have also been published on the objective benefits of subjective wellbeing and in uncovering the genetic architecture of human wellbeing. Methodologically, Jan’s research is empirically applied and often employs experimental designs. Ongoing research includes field experiments in collaboration with national tax administrations that trial innovative procedures centered on transparency and participation with regards to public spending. These interventions aim to raise taxpayer satisfaction and also nudge taxpayers towards greater tax compliance. His research was selected among “The Management Ideas that Mattered Most in 2016” by Harvard Business Review.

Jan has joined John Helliwell, Richard Layard, and Jeffrey Sachs as an associate editor of the World Happiness Report. He is also Deputy Principal Investigator for the ESRC What Works Centre for Wellbeing and a Research Advisor to the Gallup Organization. He is a frequent advisor to governments and businesses including the start-ups Butterfly, Ublend, and The Behaviouralist.

Prior to joining Oxford, Jan was Assistant Professor in Political Economy and Behavioural Science at University College London and a Visiting Professor in Economics and Political Science at INSEAD. He is affiliated with the Centre for Economic Performance at LSE and with the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences at Nuffield College. Jan obtained his PhD from the LSE and was a Fulbright scholar at Harvard University. His research and commentary regularly feature in the media, including in The Economist, Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, and on the BBC. He is a frequent speaker at academic and non-academic conferences including at PopTech and TED.