Hanyao Zhang

Hanyao Zhang

Behavioral/Experimental Economics

Welcome!

I’m Hanyao, a fifth-year PhD student in economics at Columbia University, where I have the privilege of being advised by Professor Mark Dean. I received my BA from Peking University in 2020. You can find my CV here.

I mainly work on behavioral economics, where I employ experimental methods to test theories of human decision making, especially under uncertainty.

  • Email: hanyao.zhang at columbia.edu
  • Address: 420 W 118th St., New York, NY 10027

Working Papers

  • Calculations Behind Lottery Valuations (draft available upon request)
    Abstract This paper introduces a novel experimental design tracking subjects’ calculations when valuing lotteries with a calculator. Subjects predominantly employ simple functional forms, primarily expected values or linear functions of monetary outcomes. The calculations exhibit remarkable within-subject stability alongside substantial between-subject heterogeneity. Calculations strongly predict risk attitudes: subjects calculating expected values exhibit near risk-neutrality, while others display extreme unresponsiveness to probability changes and are consistent with Tversky and Kahneman's (1992) fourfold pattern. Notably, these calculations also predict subjects’ valuations of deterministic mirrors (Oprea, 2024), as well as the lottery valuations when not provided with a calculator. Leveraging the calculation data, I examine the mechanisms behind the observed fourfold pattern and unresponsiveness by: (1) distinguishing implementation costs from misconceptions, finding evidence suggesting each is linked to different subject types, and (2) evaluating probability weighting and cognitive imprecision models against observed calculations.

Works in Progress

  • Reference-Dependent Motivated Beliefs, with Zhi Hao Lim

Publication (Pre-Doctoral Project)