Martin Benedikt Busch, PhD
Welcome to my research portfolio! I'm a data scientist with a Ph.D. in Economics. I specialize in crafting economic frameworks, utilizing Python and SQL for advanced analytics, and distilling complex data into actionable business insights. This research collection showcases my diverse research endeavors, from theoretical models to practical applications, all aimed at shedding light on critical issues and driving positive change.
Ressources: [CV], [LinkedIn], [GitHub], [X], [Google Scholar]
Research
Nudging cooperation among agents in an experimental social network
Jensen, G.G., Busch, M.B., Piovesan, M., Haerter J. O. Nudging cooperation among agents in an experimental social network. Appl Netw Sci 8, 62 (2023).
We investigate the development of cooperative behavior in networks over time. In our controlled laboratory experiment, subjects can cooperate by sending costly messages that contain valuable information for the receiver or other subjects in the network. Any message sent can increase the chance that subjects find the information they are looking for and consequently their profit. We find that cooperation emerges spontaneously and remains stable over time. In an additional treatment, we provide a non-binding suggestion about who to contact at the beginning of the experiment. We find that subjects partially follow our recommendation, and this increases their own and others’ profit. Despite the removal of suggestions, subjects build long-lasting relationships with the suggested contacts.
Network Formation in the Experiment
Statistical inference in social networks:
how sampling bias and uncertainty shape decisions
(with Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen)
We investigate how individuals form beliefs about population behavior using statistical inference based on observations of their social relations. Sampling bias due to the friendship paradox and uncertainty due to small samples lead to misperceptions about others' connectedness and behavior. In a game where actions are strategic complements, we characterize the equilibrium and analyze equilibrium behavior. We show how population behavior depends on the extent of the two biases and agents' level of sophistication to account for them. We demonstrate the role of uncertainty for estimation precision and illustrate when sampling uncertainty plays a critical role compared to sampling bias. We outline how our framework is useful for further analysis of behavior by agents embedded in networks.
Non-Linear Equilibrium Expectations
HOPR as the transport layer of privacy-aware, GDPR-compliant IoT health systems
(with Lucas Benedicic, Sebastian Bürgel, Robert Kiel and Rich McDowell)
HOPR is a modern, permissionless, GDPR-compliant network for transport of private and confidential data. Implemented as a decentralized mixnet, HOPR provides network metadata protection and communication privacy, as well as compliance with data protection regulatory frameworks like GDPR. This work validates HOPR’s compliance by presenting relevant GDPR mandates (e.g., articles and recitals) and evaluating them against HOPR features. As the practical case study for this validation, one of the most strictly regulated environments has been chosen: health data and their applications in an IoT setting. HOPR can provide a readily available, autonomous transport layer for private health data while fulfilling GDPR regulatory requirements, i.e., GDPR’s stipulations for handling sensitive data. As such, HOPR positions itself at the intersection of technology, compliance, and healthcare, where new developments are literally lifesaving.
Statistical Inference with Sample Selection in Games
(with Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen)
We investigate sample selection as a source of misperceptions in games with complete information. We analyze equilibrium behavior in binary action games where the decision to take the action depends on the estimated share of others taking it. With sample selection, agents observe an unrepresentative sample of others’ behavior. We show and disentangle how sample selection, sample size, and heterogeneity in agents' inference procedures affects equilibrium behavior. We outline how our analysis of equilibrium behavior can be useful to analyze the welfare implications of sample selection.
draft available upon request
Statistical Inference Equilibria (SESI)
Choosing Cooperators Among Familiar Faces
(with Helene Willadsen, Andreas Bjerre-Nielsen, and Ingo Zettler)
Status: draft in progress
Conference Presentations
ETH Milan | Milan, Italy | 05/10/2023
Co-Organizer: 1st Junior Economists Meeting | University of Milan, Italy | 13/5/2022
Experimental Lunch Seminar | University of Milan, Italy | 8/4/2022
Experimental Lunch Seminar | University of Milan, Italy | 3/11/2021
Spring Meeting of Young Economists | Bologna, Italy | 17/6/2021 – 19/6/2021
Maastricht Behavioral and Experimental Economics Symposium | Maastricht, Netherlands | 7/6/2021 - 8/6/2021
Young Academics Networks Conference | Cambridge-INET, United Kingdom | 1/6/2021 - 3/6/2021
Book a Scientist | The Danish Scientist Festival, Denmark | 23/4/2021 - 29/4/2021
Spanish Economic Association SAEe Meeting | Salamanca, Spain | 10/12/2020 – 11/12/2020
The Danish Graduate Program in Economics (DGPE) | Aarhus University, Denmark | 5/11/2020
Bocconi Virtual Ph.D. Conference | Milan, Italy | 3/9/2020
European Economic Association Virtual | Rotterdam, Netherlands | 24/8/2020 – 27/8/2020
Copenhagen Network of Experimental Economics | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 27/5/2020
13th RGS Doctoral Conference in Economics | Dortmund, Germany | 18/2/2020 – 19/2/2020
North American meeting of the Economic Science Association (ESA) | Los Angeles, California, USA | 10/10/2019 – 13/10/2019
CEBI Lunch Meeting | Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI), Denmark | 8/4/2019
The Danish Graduate Program in Economics (DGPE) | Aarhus University, Denmark | 15/11/2018 – 16/11/2018
Workshop on Field Experiments | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 10/9/2018 – 21/9/2018
Workshop on Endogenous Institutions in Social Dilemmas | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 28/6/2018 – 29/6/2018
Workshop on Experimental Economics meets Statistical Physics | Niels Bohr Institute, Denmark | 4/5/2018
Teaching and Supervision
Master Thesis Supervison | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 09/2020 – 12/2020
Thesis Title: Network creation in a classroom environment - the role of gender, preferences, abilities, and parental attributes
Student: [Bogdan Birgovan]
Industrial Organization |Graduate Level | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 02/2019 – 06/2019
Teaching fellow for Prof. Johan Largerlöf
Incentives and Organizations |Graduate Level | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | 09/2018 – 01/2019
Teaching fellow for Prof. Steffen Altmann