Welcome to Money on the Mind. Thank you for reading this blogpost. I do hope you enjoy it and keep coming back for more. Before diving into the science of it all, I’d like to use this space to explain why I felt that starting a blog dedicated to my interpretation of behavioural and economic science was a great idea.
Money on the Mind is an idea that I have had in my mind for quite a while. I love studying behavioural economics, and I love being in academia. But there is a drawback to everything. Academia is a bubble. And not a big bubble at that.
My raging addiction to detective novels is what made me realise the bubble academic literature is in. I should maybe explain that statement. I read a lot of Agatha Christie, a world renowned best-selling author. But when I have read a lot of her work, I struggle getting back into the structure and flow I need for academic writing. Since, as a PhD student, I should produce academic literature.
Writing academic literature is not my only struggle. Having made it to PhD level, I am not ashamed to admit that I am unable to figure out the takeaway message from a lot of academic texts. Some academic literature is impossible to get through, let alone understand. After having studied behavioural economics for five years now, I feel I should not be facing this many issues reading academic literature on topics I do in fact understand. But often, I find myself struggling. And I can’t imagine what someone without my training, but with a keen interest would experience when reading these texts.
Not only is academic literature inaccessible in the way it is often written, it is difficult to access for individuals as well. Scientific articles, if they even get published, get published in journals. Journals offer subscriptions, but they are quite expensive and not everyone has the money to spare or is willing to pay the price. There is a silver lining: Institutions such as research centres and universities do often have purchased access for their members, so access becomes free. However, if you’re not part of such an institution, obtaining (free) access becomes quite difficult.
Limited accessibility is a massive issue for academia, especially when trying to promote newer fields of research. Behavioural economics as an academic field is young and quite often its findings are taken out of context. This is a shame, as the findings could benefit a lot of people, if they were properly explained. This is where I come in. I started this blog to pop the academic bubble. I want the findings of behavioural economics to be accessible and understandable for all.
I hope Money on the Mind can live up to my expectation of it. I want to personalise, make accessible and provide understanding of highly relevant academic literature, to not just academics. Because there is no point to research if it only affects a limited few. I hope to take you along my learning curve of both Behavioural Economics and Blogging.
Happy reading!
