T. Scott Findley

Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

Economics and Finance

Scott Findley attended Utah State University as an undergraduate student, earning a B.A. degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences and a separate B.S. degree in Philosophy and Political Science. He continued his studies at Utah State University as a graduate student, earning a M.A. degree in Political Science and a separate M.S. degree in Economics.

It was in his last year of his graduate studies at Utah State University when he realized that he wanted to ultimately become a professor. This realization was in large part the result of the excellent instruction that he had received in the classroom and the high-quality research mentoring that he had received at the hands of many faculty members. He therefore pursued his doctoral studies at Colorado State University, completing his Ph.D. in Economics during the Summer of 2007.

Scott started his academic career as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Illinois State University in the Fall of 2007. He started a new position the following year as an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of New Mexico when the professional opportunity presented itself to serve as a faculty member in a department that granted a doctorate degree. He was specifically hired at the University of New Mexico to service and anchor the doctoral-level courses in public economics, which is his primary field of academic research (the other being behavioral economics).

The opportunity to return to his alma mater, Utah State University, presented itself within one year, after he interviewed for and was offered a position as an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Jon M.Huntsman School of Business. He started at Utah State University in the Fall of 2009. Scott’s research program has concentrated on the role of behavioral pathologies (i.e., self- control failure, myopia, impulsivity, misperceptions, overconfidence) on economic outcomes over the life cycle. He has also spent considerable effort in examining the role that social security might play in potentially remedying such behavioral pathologies. His peer-reviewed research has been published in several high-quality scientific outlets, including Economics Letters, the Journal of Economic Psychology, International Tax and Public Finance, and the European Journal of Political Economy. In recognition for his research efforts to date, Scott was honored with the appointment as a Research Fellow of Netspar (The Network for Pensions, Aging and Retirement) which is sponsored by the government of The Netherlands in tandem with several private pension providers and universities across Europe.

Scott was also honored with the appointment as a Research Affiliate (Junior Fellow) of CESifo (joint partnership between the Center for Economic Studies and the Ifo Institute, headquartered in Munich, Germany). CESifo is sponsored by the federal government of Germany, the state government of Bavaria, and the University of Munich. In addition, in 2008 Scott was awarded The Young Economists Award in Maastricht, Netherlands by the International Institute of Public Finance for some of his research (joint with coauthor, Frank Caliendo) on optimal public pension design. This award was bestowed for this research that stands out for scientific quality, creativity, and relevance, and the award was given to only two other pairs of coauthors representing Harvard University, the University of Cologne, the University of Munich, and the Paris School of Economics.