AIB is to fund the first Irish chair in behavioural economics in partnership with University College Dublin.

This will involve the appointment of a professor to the UCD school of economics and the UCD Geary institute for public policy. The position has been advertised and is expected to be filled this year.

The initiative also involves the recruitment of a post-doctoral fellow, the development of a programme of research, the establishment of a master’s programme in 2017, and the creation of a UCD-AIB behavioural economics laboratory at the university’s campus in Belfield.

Partnership

This is part of a wider seven-year partnership and innovation initiative between AIB and UCD, announced in September 2014, to support expertise and scholarship in improving the economic and social well-being of the country.

Popularised in books such as Freakonomics and Nudge, behavioural economics applies insights from psychology and other disciplines to generate models of behaviour that are more realistic than those associated with traditional economic theory.

The research can provide insight into how and why people make key decisions in areas such as personal finances, health and exercise and energy usage.

AIB chief executive Bernard Byrne said: "We believe behavioural economics can help provide insight to solving key problems facing the economy and society."