Now, our doctoral students

The Behavioral Economics Master's program offered many answers during its two years, but it also opened the door to many more questions. After graduating, pursuing a PhD felt like the natural next step. I chose to apply a behavioral perspective to Public Administration, utilizing the methodological skills gained during my master's to better understand human behavior within public systems. By applying these insights, I hope my research makes a lasting contribution to society - so that we all benefit from a more functional and effective administration.

After more than 20 years in financial services, implementing projects aimed at optimizing business outcomes and, more recently, working in digital transformation and data and AI governance, I decided to pursue a PhD to rigorously investigate a question that kept resurfacing: Can we develop AI solutions that genuinely support responsible financial behavior, financial resilience, protection, and sustainable consumption, rather than merely facilitating transactions or improving business outcomes?

The Master’s Programme in Behavioral Economics at the University of Bucharest provided me with the foundation to turn this question into a rigorous research project with real-world impact.

The interdisciplinary foundation of the master's made my doctoral path possible. It taught me how behavioural insights can be used not to influence people, but to protect and empower them, and it gave me the tools to move in an entirely new direction. Today, as a PhD candidate in Administrative Sciences, my research examines the implications of behavioural economics for public health. Rather than remaining in the private sector, I chose to apply what I learned to public service and the greater good. The behavioural lens I developed during the master's continues to shape my research, my teaching, and the questions I find worth asking. 

What is real, by the way? What is "the truth"? However hard we try to explain it, reality will always be approximated by a model developed by the human mind, never to be seen in its true form. So what should we study? Reality? Or the human mind?

Behavioral Economics was born as a way to understand the economic phenomena, by looking through the lens of the human mind. Is the economic agent truthfully rational? Does he really act always in his own interest? Are markets moved by prices? Or by fear?

All of these questions and more can be explored in this beautiful Master's Programme which has transformed my own way of thinking - from a rigid, factual, black and white perspective to a deeper, dynamic, multicoloured one. 

I strongly encourage you to join! I think it is the best Master's Programme you can follow. But I might be biased...

The Behavioral Economics Master’s brought together psychology, economics, and consumer behavior in a way that highlighted the complexity of how people and organizations make decisions. I particularly valued the diversity of perspectives and the ability of the professors to make complex ideas accessible and connect them to real-world examples. The programme also inspired me to pursue a PhD, allowing me to explore decision-making in greater depth. My current research examines how people use AI advice in organizational decisions—when they choose to follow it and when they rely on their own judgment—building naturally on the questions that first captured my interest during the Master’s.

After the MSc, I began applying behavioral economics in commercial settings, developing ways to diagnose how biases and contextual forces shape customer decisions and contribute to suboptimal outcomes in high-stakes industries, as well as designing interventions to address the issues identified. That work eventually brought me back to academia, where my PhD examines how financial firms translate regulatory obligations into the products, communications and customer journeys that shape behavior. The applied work continues in parallel, amid rapid advances in AI, with a recurring theme: that greater technical sophistication should strengthen the alignment of systems, institutions and businesses with the people they are meant to serve, rather than substitute for it.

As a naturally curious person passionate about learning, I pursued this program to broaden my horizons and challenge myself through research. The program has given me the opportunity to live and embody the four Ls of Living, Learning, Loving what I do and Leaving a Legacy. What I value most is its balance between academic rigor, practical research guidance and the inspiration to keep moving forward. I found a welcoming community where professors and students interact openly, respectfully and genuinely support one another. This has created an atmosphere that makes you want to learn, grow, thrive, and excel. It is within this setting that I explore Euro adoption through OCA theory and the role of real convergence in complementing nominal criteria for successful monetary integration.

I started my Master's in Behavioral Economics at a point in my career when I was already holding senior leadership positions and managing teams, but I was genuinely surprised by how much I still had to learn. The program introduced me to new perspectives and tools that I could immediately apply to my work, helping me grow as a leader and a professional.

Beyond the knowledge I gained, it taught me to approach challenges with greater scientific rigor and gave me a deeper appreciation for research and data analysis.

What I valued most, however, were the dedicated professors, whose passion for research was truly inspiring. They played an important role in my decision to continue my academic journey by pursuing a PhD at the same faculty.