Justin Sydnor

Justin Sydnor is the Leslie P. Schultz Professor in Risk Management and Insurance and an associate professor in the Department of Risk and Insurance at the Wisconsin School of Business.

He joined the Wisconsin School of Business from Case Western Reserve University, where he was an assistant professor of economics with the Weatherhead School of Management.

His research interests are in psychology and economics, applied microeconomics, (behavioral) industrial organization, insurance markets, and risk and decision making.

Sydnor earned his B.A. in economics and German from UW-Madison and his Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.

Selected Published Journal Articles

• Bhargava, S. & Loewenstein, G. & Sydnor, J. (2017). Choose to Lose: Health Plan Choices From a Menu With Dominated Options. Quarterly Journal of Economics (132), 1319-1372.
• Royer, H. & Stehr, M. & Sydnor, J. (2015). Incentives, Commitments and Habit Formation in Exercise: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Workers at a Fortune-500 Company. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (7), 51-84.
• Busse, M. & Lacetera, N. & Pope, D. & Silva-Risso, J. & Sydnor, J. (2013). Estimating the Effect of Salience in Wholesale and Retail Car Markets. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings (103), 575-579. doi: 10.1257/aer.103.3.575.
• Lacetera, N. & Pope, D. & Sydnor, J. (2012). Heuristic Thinking and Limited Attention in the Car Market. American Economic Review (102), 2206-2236. doi: 10.1257/aer.102.5.2206.
• Pope, D. & Sydnor, J. (2011). Implementing Anti-discrimination Policies in Statistical Profiling Models. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy (3), 206-231. doi: 10.1257/pol.3.3.206.
• Garbarino, E. & Slonim, R. & Sydnor, J. (2011). Digit Ratios (2D:4D) Predict Risk Taking for Men and Women. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty (42), 1-26. doi: 10.1007/s11166-010-9109-6.
• Pope, D. & Sydnor, J. (2011). What's in a Picture? Evidence of Discrimination from Prosper.com. Journal of Human Resources (46), 53-92.
• Sydnor, J. (2010). (Over)Insuring Modest Risks. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (2), 177-199. doi: 10.1257/app.2.4.177.
• Wharton, D. & Sydnor, J. (2010). Geographic Variation in the Gender Differences in Test Scores. Journal of Economic Perspectives (24), 95-108. doi: 10.1257/jep.24.2.95.

Undergraduate Courses

Risk Analytics and Behavioral Science (RMI 660 Section 002), Spring 2016. Download Syllabus

Risk Analytics and Behavioral Science (RMI 660 Section 003), Spring 2016. Download Syllabus

Property Risk Management (RMI 610 Section 1), Spring 2011.

Property Risk Management (RMI 610 Section 1), Fall 2011. Download Syllabus

Graduate Courses

Seminar in Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Insurance (RMI 920), Spring 2011.

Adv Topics in Risk Management (RMI 820 Section 1), Fall 2010.

Principles of Risk Management (RMI 700 Section 1), Fall 2011.