Dr. Donna Harris

Biography

Donna Harris is the Director of Studies in Political Economy at the University of Oxford. She is a Behavioral Experimental Economist who employs interdisciplinary methods that integrate psychology, economics, and neuroscience to investigate individual and group behaviors and their policy applications in developing countries. She holds a PhD and MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Economics from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. Donna has been awarded research grants from the British Academy and joint Post-Doctoral Fellowships with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) in the UK. She serves as a consultant for the Climate Change and Disaster Risks team at Oxford Policy Management, focusing on international development to support low- to middle-income countries in achieving growth and reducing poverty through public policy reforms. Her current research explores how social identity and social interactions—analyzed through face-to-face communication—affect decision-making in various contexts, including resource allocation and financial behaviors. Donna is also interested in the behavioral foundations of corruption, particularly how social identities and personal connections influence this issue and the use of behavioral interventions to combat it.

Research Interests

Experience