Rob Moir
Economics | Associate dean of research and special projects
“My research focuses on testing economic theory at the nexus of competition and cooperation. I study issues like voluntary contributions to public goods, common-pool problems, and the prisoner’s dilemma using controlled experiments with paid human subjects.
Increasingly, this line of research has taken a behavioural economics twist (i.e., using more psychology) and I apply behavioural findings in the formation of public policy that enhances people’s ability to cooperate and cooperation is welfare improving.
I currently share a Collaborative Applied Research in Economics (CARE) grant to do a three-province study measuring individuals’ socio-economic characteristics, their social profile, and a number of economic traits like cooperative-tendencies, risk aversion, discount rate, etc.
Finally, I am interested in the (mis)use of GDP as a public policy device and have worked on finding better measurement indicators. My applied research typically focuses on improving the evidence used to make government policy. Often my work is directed toward my provincial government making wise decisions.”
Selected current and recent projects
Co-Investigator. Collaborative Applied Research in Economics (CARE) – Memorial University – Study of economic impact of cruise ship tourism in Atlantic Canada (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
Jasmine Alam, Mustapha Ibn Boamah, Rob Moir (2018) "An examination of the social economy: some new theoretical insights", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 45 Issue: 6, pp.940-956.
