Why Do We Make Mistakes?

Why is it difficult to make good choices? Dominik Roesch, Associate Professor in Finance, argues that making the right choice is difficult for at least three reasons. We might lack knowledge to properly evaluate alternatives, we might lack understanding of how to evaluate them, and we might lack rationality. When analyzing each of these challenges we will answer questions such as what is the difference between testing positive for COVID and having COVID. 

About Dominik Roesch
Dominik Roesch is an Associate Professor in Finance at the University at Buffalo. His research focuses on market quality, in particular, investigating the joint dynamics of arbitrage, liquidity, and efficiency. Several of his papers have been published (or are forthcoming) in the top-3 finance journals, including the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, and the Review of Financial Studies. He has been part of an NSF infrastructure grant, which allowed him to build up a framework (based on OneTick software) to efficiently analyze financial data. Before finishing his PhD at Erasmus University, he worked as a Quantitative Analysts in Germany, Malta, and Malaysia. He has a Master (equivalent) in Mathematics from the University of Bonn and a Master in Finance from the University of London.