Not all economists evaluate financial markets. Here, Anya Samek discusses what drives her research interest. As a behavioral economist she explores questions about peoples’ decision making, like why do they pay for gym memberships and never go, or why people choose to give or not give to a nonprofit after receiving a thank you call for their previous donation. Samek is an Associate Professor of Economics and Strategy at the Rady School of Management. Samek is the recipient of the 2020 Vernon L. Smith Ascending Scholar Prize. She is a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, an Affiliate of the FAIR Centre at the Norwegian School of Economics and an affiliate of CESR at the University of Southern California. Samek has published over 50 articles in peer reviewed journals and received numerous federal and foundation grants, including from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Templeton Foundation, and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Samek earned a Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University and completed post-doctoral training at the University of Chicago. Samek's research areas are applied microeconomic, behavioral economics, experimental economics, and household economics. _________________________________________________________________________________________ FOLLOW & SUBSCRIBE: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/radyschool Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radyschool LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/ucsandiego-rady-school-of-management Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/radyschool Website: https://rady.ucsd.edu #RadySchool #MBA #MSBA #BusinessSchool #BusinessAnalytics #BehavioralEconomics