About Dr. Maschek:
Before joining the Department of Economics in the Fall of 2006, Michael was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Team for Advanced Research in Growth, Education and Technology [TARGET]. TARGET was established at the University of British Columbia with major funding from the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) under the Initiative on the New Economy program. The project involves the collaboration of eighteen research associates from various academic institutions to investigate how globalization, technology, and education have contributed to the emergence of the New Economy. Through regular meetings, workshops, and conferences, the research associates, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students have studied how the economic and social policies of Canada need to be adapted to the demands of the New Economy.
An instructor since 2003, Michael has lectured in courses of economic principles at the introductory, intermediate and advanced levels as well as field courses in areas that included Canadian economic policy and environmental economics. Additionally, Michael created the first course in behavioural economics to be taught at Simon Fraser University.
Michael currently lives in the Vancouver area with his wife, Hayley Maschek, a Partner with MNP’s Tax Services group, kids Kennedy and Briar, and Boston Terrier.
Decision Making Under Economic Uncertainty: Lessons From Research in Behavioural Economics:
The current economic climate is characterized by increased uncertainty and volatility. Attempts to balance this uncertainty in an economically rational manner can be encumbered by inherent psychological biases. Behavioural economics is an attempt to incorporate insights from psychology into economics. Its impact now permeates finance, marketing, management, and industrial organization. The psychological phenomena and cognitive biases featured in this talk will help illuminate departures in rationality common in environments featuring uncertainty and help those familiar with them better navigate through a distinctly tenuous economic landscape.