I AM
Tai-Sen He 何太森
Academic Position
Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, since 2013
Education
Ph.D. in Economics, Brown University, 2013
M.A. in Economics, National Chengchi University, 2003
Bachelor of Finance, National Chengchi University, 2001
Research Fields
Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, Psychology and Economics
Assistant Professor, Nanyang Technological University, since 2013
Education
Ph.D. in Economics, Brown University, 2013
M.A. in Economics, National Chengchi University, 2003
Bachelor of Finance, National Chengchi University, 2001
Research Fields
Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, Psychology and Economics
I am an Assistant Professor in Economics at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). I completed my Ph.D. in Economics at Brown University in 2013. Prior to my Ph.D., I earned my Bachelor of Finance and M.A. in Economics from National Chengchi University in Taiwan. There, I was selected as an honorary member of the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society of the Republic of China.
I use experimental methods to study problems at the intersection of economics, finance, psychology, and linguistics. My recent research focuses on two interdisciplinary areas: 1) how linguistic features (e.g., future tense and pronoun drop) and acoustic manipulations (e.g., vocal pitch and speech rate) influence people's economic decision-making and 2) how parents can foster their children's development in economically important preferences (e.g., pro-sociality and patience) and life skills (e.g., strategic reasoning)? I frequently involve undergraduate and graduate students in my research and actively publish journal articles with students as co-authors.
During my Ph.D. years, I taught at Brown University, Bridgewater State University, and University of Massachusetts, Boston. Notably, I was the sole recipient of Reginald D. Archambault Award for Teaching Excellence from Brown University in 2009. Currently, at NTU, I teach Experimental Economics (HE4013, AE6317), Financial Economics (HE3007), and Microeconomics Principles (HE1001). I also teach Behavioral Economics for Policy Analysis (D6556)—which is taught in Mandarin Chinese, my mother tongue—for the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration. I like to make complicated concepts simple, messy thoughts organized, boring things interesting, and theoretical models practical. My teaching style is conversational and relaxed because I believe a comfortable and trusting classroom atmosphere breeds student comprehension and creativity. I use the inquiry-based teaching method to push students to think deeply and critically; my greatest joy as a teacher occurs when students have insights that I've never thought of myself.
I am married to a psychologist and have an amazing seven-year-old son, both of whom inspire my research and teaching through our daily interactions. I like cooking, eating, and traveling, as well as playing with plants and dogs. I was a competitive swimmer in middle and high school, but today I swim mainly to burn the extra calories I eat.