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Symposium On Implications for Innovation

USC Gould School of Law • May 13, 2008
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Event brings together experts in neuroscience, economics and law

—By Gilien Silsby

The Southern California Innovation Project at USC Law is bringing together 35 experts in neuroscience, economics and the law in a symposium exploring how studies of the brain can lead to better laws for a more innovative economy.

The two-day event, “Law, Economics and Neuroscience: Implications for Innovation,” will be held May 14 and 15 at Kerckhoff Hall at USC. It will include six sessions on topics ranging from “The Neural Basis of Choice” and “The Formation and Evolution of Beliefs” to “Social Interaction and Social Pressure.”

Participants include top scholars from USC, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Washington University, Caltech, and Emory University, among others, said Gillian Hadfield, director of SCIP.

“The purpose of the conference is to explore whether studies of the brain can help us to understand innovative behavior and therefore help us design better law and legal institutions to promote innovation,” Hadfield said.

James Spindler, a USC Law professor, will discuss a paper by David Laibson of Harvard University on “Measuring time preference with response times” in the first session on Wednesday. Later in the day, Isabelle Brocas, a USC economist, will present her paper on “Reason, Emotion and Information Processing in the Brain,” written jointly with Juan Carillo, also an associate professor in USC’s economics department.

In the session on “The Neural Basis of Choice, Formation and Evolution of Beliefs,” Mathew McCubbins, a visiting professor at USC Law, will discuss the effect of institutions on behavior and brain activity, while Colin Camerer of Caltech will talk about neural mechanism design.

Dan Simon, a professor at USC Law, will discuss a paper by Alan Sanfey, a psychologist from the University of Arizona, on the neurobiological underpinnings of decision conflict.

“This conference promises to be one of those unique events where everything falls into place: the brightest and most innovative researchers coming together to talk about cutting edge research, at the right time and at the right place,” Simon said. “One would be hard pressed to think of a more cross-disciplinary topic than the intersection of neuroscience, economics, and law.”

Hadfield hopes the symposium will lead to more collaboration among scholars who may appear to have very different goals and backgrounds.

“You don’t usually find scientists, economists and lawyers talking together about the same topic,” Hadfield said. “I think people will find that we can enrich the research agenda of all these disciplines with this kind of cross pollination.”

Thomas Lyon, a USC Law professor, will participate in the plenary panel on “The Future of Law, Economics and Neuroscience.” In addition, Simon Wilkie, executive director of the USC Center for Communication Law and Policy, will discuss a paper on “Self-delusion” by Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Drazen Prelec.

For a full schedule and more information on the conference, please call Gilien Silsby at 213-740-9690.

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