Levon Barseghyan is the Robert Julius Thorne Professor of Economics at Cornell University. He joined Cornell in 2003 after receiving his PhD in Economics from Northwestern University. He also holds a Diploma in Mathematics from Yerevan State University, an MS in Industrial Engineering from the American University of Armenia, and an MS in Policy Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
His research lies primarily in two broad areas. The first studies decision-making under risk and uncertainty, with particular emphasis on risk preferences, probability distortions, insurance choices, and limited consideration in discrete choice. This work combines rich field data, structural modeling, and econometric methods to understand how households perceive risk, make choices across different contexts, and respond to market design and public policy. It also develops tools for measuring the welfare consequences of those choices and for distinguishing preference heterogeneity from limited consideration and related behavioral forces.
The second examines how institutions and public policy shape economic outcomes. In this research, he studies questions at the intersection of growth, public finance, political economy, and local public finance, with work on macroeconomic policy, institutional design, zoning, public goods provision, and community development. A central theme is how political and institutional constraints influence the evolution of policy and, in turn, economic performance and welfare.
Across both areas, his work is motivated by a common goal: to understand how individuals and institutions make decisions under constraints and uncertainty, and how those decisions shape economic outcomes and welfare.
Contact Information
Levon Barseghyan
Professor
402D Uris Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
E-mail: lb247@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-6284
Fax: (607) 255-2818