ryan oprea

professor of economics
uc berkeley

I am a professor in the Economic Analysis & Policy group at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. I study how complexity and cognitive limitations influence human behavior and institutions.

You can find my curriculum vita here. Here is a recent handbook chapter that includes an overview of some of my recent research on complexity.

haas school of business
2220 piedmont ave
berkeley 94720

tel: 831-331-0740
email: roprea@berkeley.edu

continuous time behavior

  • Calford, E. and Oprea, R. “Continuity, Inertia and Strategic Uncertainty: A Test of the Theory of Continuous Time Games,” Econometrica, 2017, 85(3): 915–935. [pdf] [supplement]
  • Oprea, R. “Survival Versus Profit Maximization in a Dynamic Stochastic Experiment,” Econometrica, 2014, 82(6): 2225–2255. [pdf]
  • Oprea, R., Charness, G. and Friedman, D. “Continuous Time and Communication in a Public-goods Experiment,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2014, 108: 212–223. [pdf]
  • Magnani, J., Gorry, A. and Oprea, R. “Time and State Dependence in an Ss Decision Experiment,” American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 2016, 8(1): 285–310. [pdf]
  • Friedman, D. and Oprea, R. “A Continuous Dilemma,” American Economic Review, 2012, 102:1, 337–363. 2013 Exeter Prize for the best paper published in Experimental Economics, Behavioral Economics and Decision Theory. [pdf] [appendix]
  • Oprea, R., Henwood, K. and Friedman, D. “Separating the Hawks from the Doves: Evidence from Continuous Time Laboratory Games,” Journal of Economic Theory, 2011, 146:6, 2206–2225. [pdf]
  • Anderson, S., Friedman, D. and Oprea, R. “Preemption Games: Theory and Experiment,” American Economic Review, 2010, 100:4, 1778–1803. [pdf] [appendix]
  • Oprea, R., Friedman, D. and Anderson, S. “Learning to Wait: A Laboratory Investigation,” Review of Economic Studies, 2009, 76:3, 1103–1124. [pdf]
  • Oprea, R. “Free Cash Flow and Takeover Threats: An Experimental Study,” Southern Economic Journal, 2008, 75:2, 351–366. [pdf]
  • Pettit, J., Kephart, C., Friedman, D. and Oprea, R. “Software for Continuous Game Experiments,” Experimental Economics, 2014, 17: 631–648. [pdf]

market behavior

  • Crockett, S., Friedman, D. and Oprea, R. “Naturally Occurring Preferences and General Equilibrium: A Laboratory Experiment,” International Economic Review, 2021, 62(2): 831–859 [pdf]
  • Crockett, S., Oprea, R. and Plott, C. “Extreme Walrasian Dynamics: The Gale Example in the Lab,” American Economic Review, 2011, 101:7, 3196–3220. [pdf] [appendix]
  • Hanson, R. and Oprea, R. “A Manipulator Can Aid Prediction Market Accuracy,” Economica, 2009, 76, 304–314. [pdf]
  • Hanson, R., Oprea, R. and Porter, D. “Information Aggregation and Manipulation in an Experimental Market,” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2006, 60:1, 449–459. [pdf]
  • Oprea, R., Wilson, B. and Zillante, A. “War of Attrition: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment on Market Exit,” Economic Inquiry, 2013, 51:4, 2018–2027. [pdf]

learning

  • Backhaus, T., Huck, S., Leutgeb, J. and Oprea, R. “Learning through Period and Physical Time,” Games and Economic Behavior, 2023, 141: 21–29. [pdf]
  • Huck, S., Leutgeb, J. and Oprea, R. “Payoff Information Hampers the Evolution of Cooperation,” Nature Communications, May 2017 [pdf]
  • Friedman, D., Huck, S., Oprea, R. and Weidenholzer, S. “From Imitation to Collusion: Long-run Learning in a Low-Information Environment,” Journal of Economic Theory, 2015, 155: 185–205. [pdf]

working papers

  • Oprea, R. “Complexity and Its Measurement,” prepared for the Handbook of Experimental Methods in the Social Sciences [pdf]
  • Guan, M. and Oprea, R. “Three Faces of Complexity in Strategic Choice,” revising for Econometrica [pdf]
  • Oprea, R. and Vieider, F. “Minding the Gap: On the Origins of Probability Weighting and the Description-Experience Gap,” revising for American Economic Review [New Update]
  • de Clippel, G., Oprea, R. and Rozen, K. “As If,” [New Update]
  • Bouchouicha, R., Oprea, R., Vieider, F. and Wu, J. “Cognitive Frictions and Canonical Patterns in Risk-Taking” [New Update] (previously circulated as “Is Prospect Theory Really a Theory of Choice”)
  • Oprea, R. and Robalino, N. “Are Humans More Averse to Aggregate Risk? Testing an Evolutionary Economic Theory,” [pdf]
  • Guan, M., Oprea, R. and Yuksel, S. “Beyond Instrumental Value: How Complexity Shapes Information Demand,” [pdf]
  • Magnani, J. and Oprea, R. “On the Cognitive Foundations of Trade,” [New Paper]
  • Oprea, R. and Vieider, F. “Information Processing and the Anomalies of Risk and Time,” [New Paper]
  • Malmendier, U., Oprea, R. and Veldkamp, L. “Information Resonance,” [New Paper]
  • Oprea, R. and Woodford, M. “Behavioral Signatures of Cognitive Noise” prepared for the Annual Review of Economics [New Paper]
  • Oprea, R., Rees-Jones, A. and Whitefield, A. “A Direct Examination of Preferences for Wealth Integration” [soon]

complexity / cognitive

  • Enke, B., Graeber, T., Oprea, R. and Yang, G. “Behavioral Attenuation,” Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming, 2026 [pdf]
  • Schulze, C. et al. “A Timeline of Cognitive Costs in Decision-Making,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2025, 29 (9): 827–839 [pdf]
  • Enke, B., Graeber, T. and Oprea, R. “Complexity and Time,” Journal of the European Economic Association, 2025, 23(5), 1838–1867 [pdf]
  • Oprea, R. “Decisions Under Risk are Decisions Under Complexity,” American Economic Review, 2024, 114: 12, 3789–3811. Lead article. [pdf] (previously circulated as “Simplicity Equivalents”) Initial Reply to Banki et. al. (2025)’s comment [pdf]
  • Kendall, C. and Oprea, R. “On the Complexity of Forming Mental Models,” Quantitative Economics, 2024, 15: 175–211. [pdf]
  • Esponda, I., Oprea, R. and Yuksel, S. “Seeing What is Representative,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, May 2023 [pdf] (previously circulated as “Contrast-Biased Evaluation” and “Discrimination Without Reason: Biases in Statistical Discrimination”)
  • Enke, B., Graeber, T. and Oprea, R. “Confidence, Self-selection and Bias in the Aggregate,” American Economic Review, 2023, 113:7, 1933–1966. [pdf]
  • Banovetz, J. and Oprea, R. “Complexity and Procedural Choice,” American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 2023, 15:2, 384–413. [pdf]
  • Oprea, R. “What Makes a Rule Complex?” American Economic Review, 2020, 110:12, 3913–3951. 2021 Exeter Prize for the best paper published in Experimental Economics, Behavioral Economics and Decision Theory. [pdf]

beliefs

  • Oprea, R. and Yuksel, S. “Social Exchange of Motivated Beliefs,” Journal of the European Economic Association, 2021, 20(2): 667–699. [pdf]
  • Charness, G., Oprea, R. and Yuksel, S. “How Do People Choose Between Biased Information Sources? Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment,” Journal of the European Economic Association, 2021, 19(3). [pdf]
  • Kendall, C. and Oprea, R. “Are Biased Beliefs Fit to Survive? An Experimental Test of the Market Selection Hypothesis,” Journal of Economic Theory, 2018, 176: 342–371. [pdf]

other research

  • Amaldoss, W., Ho, Teck-Hua, Krishna, A., Chen, K.Y., Desai, P., Iyer, G., Jain, S., Lim, N., Morgan, J., Oprea, R. and Srivasatava, J. “Experiments on Strategic Choices and Markets,” Marketing Letters, 2008, 19:3, 417–429. [pdf]
  • Oprea, R., Smith, V.L. and Winn, A. “A Compensation Election for Binary Social Choice,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2007, 104:3, 1093–1096. [pdf]