Dr Berg specializes in behavioral economics. He teaches microeconomics, financial economics, psychology and economics, business statistics and econometrics. In 2014, Berg received a 156,000 AUD grant with Toby Handfield (Monash University) to collect experimental data and produce new theoretical findings as part of the project: "Pathologies of Moral Cognition." Berg was invited to become a member of the International Social Science Council (United Nations) Food Futures Network in 2013. Since moving to University of Otago in 2012, Berg has published 15 new scholarly works.
Berg's articles in the field of behavioral economics appear in journals such as Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Psychological Review, and Social Choice and Welfare and his joint work with the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition at the Max Planck Institute-Berlin is published by Oxford University Press. Berg serves as Associate Editor for Global Economics and Management Review (Elsevier) and is an Associate Editor for Review of Behavioral Economics. He sits on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly Journal of Socio-Economics) and Global Business and Economics Review. Berg was a Fulbright Scholar in 2003 and Visiting Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute-Berlin in 2005 and at Osaka University in 2008 and 2009. His research has been cited in the Financial Times, Business Week, Canada's National Post, The Village Voice, The Advocate and Atlantic Monthly.
Before becoming an economist, Berg recorded and toured internationally with jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. He performed with Clark Terry, John Scofield, Alan Broadbent, Stephen Scott, Burnadette Peters, Larry Goldings, Bill Stewart, Christy Moore, and many others. His songwriting was featured in the 2012 feature film Coin De Rue. He performs regularly in Dunedin.
Kim, J.Y. and Berg, N. (2017), Reexamining the Schmalennsee Effect. Economics: The Open-Access,Open-Assessment E-Journal. [B]
Berg, N and Gabel, T. (2017), Did tax cuts on earned income reduce Social Assistance participation in Canada?. Australian Tax Forum 32(1) 2017. [A]
Akhtaruzzaman, A., Berg, N. and Hajzler, C. (2017), Return Of Capital Dominates Return On Capital?: FDI in Developing Countries. European Journal of Political Economy. [A]
Akhtaruzzaman, A., Berg, N. and Lien, D. (2017), Confucius Institutes and FDI flows from China to Africa. China Economic Review. [A]
Todd, P. M., Gigerernzer, G., & the ABC Research Group* (2012). Ecological Rationality: Intelligence in the World. Oxford University Press. (*includes N Berg)
Berg, N. (2005) Decision-making environments in which unboundedly rational decision makers choose to ignore relevant information, Global Business and Economics Review 7(1): 59-73.
Berg, N. (2005) Finance, psychology, economics and the design of successful institutions. In W. Jingping (Ed.), Shanghai Forum 2005, Economic Globalization and the Choice of Asia: Finance (pp. 502-509). Shanghai: Fudan University Press.
Berg N. (2005) Psychological economics and the size of government: On anti-, anti-anti-, ... , (anti-)n, In Yasin, Y. (ed.), Economic Modernization and Cultivation of Institutions (Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference of the State University - Higher School of Economics, Moscow), HSE Publishing House, pp. 367-375.
Berg, N. and Hoffrage, U. (2005) Environmental determinants of simple decision rules: No cognitive limitations needed, In Opwis, K. and Penner, I. (eds.) Proceedings of KogWis05: The German Cognitive Science Conference 2005, Schwabe, Basel, pp. 9-14.
Berg, N. (2003) Sometimes we have to choose between freedoms, Dallas Morning News, February 21, p. 23A.
Berg, N. (2003) We must discuss who gets what, Dallas Morning News, January 10, p.21A.
Berg, N. (2003) Review of Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word, by Kennedy, R., in Magill's Literary Annual 2002: Essay-Reviews of 200 Outstanding Books Published in the United States During 2002, pp. 586-589, Pasadena, CA, Salem Press.
Berg, N. (2003) Review of Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire, by Kaufman, M.T., in Magill's Literary Annual 2002: Essay-Reviews of 200 Outstanding Books Published in the United States During 2002, pp. 794-798, Pasadena, CA, Salem Press.
Berg, N. (1998), Review of Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Gödel, by Dawson, J.W. Jr., in Magill's Literary Annual: Books of 1997, pp. 517-521, Pasadena, CA, Salem Press.
Berg, N. and Buckles, B. (2013), Do residential real estate values over-react to the announcement of court-ordered scattered-site public housing?: Dallas case study.
Berg, N., and Buckles, B. (2012), Utility-controlled power grids Versus Independent System Operator (ISO)s: Measuring the effect of ISOs on electric transmission line capacity.
Trinh, K. A., Berg, N., Garces-Ozanne, A., & Knowles, S. (2022). Why did they not borrow? Debt-averse farmers in rural Vietnam. Developing Economies, 60(4), 228-260. doi: 10.1111/deve.12336
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2022). Optimal online-payment security system and the role of liability sharing. Economic Modelling, 110, 105805. doi: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105805
Journal - Research Article
Akhtaruzzaman, M., Berg, N., Lien, D., & Wu, Y. (2022). News coverage of Confucius Institutes in the pre-Trump era. Economic & Political Studies, 10(2), 155-180. doi: 10.1080/20954816.2020.1870025
Journal - Research Article
Rakhmah, T., Connelly, S., & Berg, N. (2021). Firm-level barriers to geothermal power project development in New Zealand. Proceedings of the 15th Otago Energy Research Centre (OERC) Symposium: The Challenge of Net Zero by 2050. Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/oerc/symposia
Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract
Berg, N., Kim, J.-Y., & Lee, K. M. (2021). Why is parochialism prevalent?: An evolutionary approach. Journal of Economic Interaction & Coordination, 16, 769-796. doi: 10.1007/s11403-021-00328-3
Journal - Research Article
Hoffrage, U., Hertwig, R., ABC Research Group, including Berg, N. (Eds.). (2013). Simple heuristics in a social world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 641p.
Edited Book - Research
Todd, P. M., Gigerenzer, G., ABC Research Group, including Berg, N. (Eds.). (2012). Ecological rationality: Intelligence in the world. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Edited Book - Research
Berg, N., Abramczuk, K., & Hoffrage, U. (2013). Fast acceptance by common experience: Augmenting Schelling's neighborhood segregation model wwith FACE-recognition. In R. Hertwig, U. Hoffrage & the ABC Research Group (Eds.), Simple heuristics in a social world. (pp. 225-259). New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388435.003.0008
Chapter in Book - Research
Bennis, W. M., Katsikopoulos, K. V., Goldstein, D. G., Dieckmann, A., & Berg, N. (2012). Designed to fit minds: Institutions and ecological rationality. In P. M. Todd, G. Gigerenzer & ABC Research Group (Eds.), Ecological rationality: Intelligence in the world. (pp. 409-427). New York: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315448.003.0126
Chapter in Book - Research
Berg, N. (2012). Risk in housing markets. In S. J. Smith (Ed.), International encyclopedia of housing and home. (pp. 193-203). Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-08-047163-1.00172-7
Chapter in Book - Research
Berg, N. (2010). Behavioral economics. In R. C. Free (Ed.), 21st Century economics: A reference handbook (Vol. 2). (pp. 861-872). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Chapter in Book - Research
Akhtaruzzaman, M., Berg, N., Lien, D., & Wu, Y. (2022). News coverage of Confucius Institutes in the pre-Trump era. Economic & Political Studies, 10(2), 155-180. doi: 10.1080/20954816.2020.1870025
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2022). Optimal online-payment security system and the role of liability sharing. Economic Modelling, 110, 105805. doi: 10.1016/j.econmod.2022.105805
Journal - Research Article
Trinh, K. A., Berg, N., Garces-Ozanne, A., & Knowles, S. (2022). Why did they not borrow? Debt-averse farmers in rural Vietnam. Developing Economies, 60(4), 228-260. doi: 10.1111/deve.12336
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., Kim, J.-Y., & Lee, K. M. (2021). Why is parochialism prevalent?: An evolutionary approach. Journal of Economic Interaction & Coordination, 16, 769-796. doi: 10.1007/s11403-021-00328-3
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., Kim, J.-Y., & Park, J. (2021). Why do firms sell gift cards although consumers prefer cash to gift cards? Economic Modelling, 96, 379-388. doi: 10.1016/j.econmod.2020.03.020
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., Kim, J.-Y., & Seon, I. (2021). A performance-based payment: Signaling the quality of a credence good. Managerial & Decision Economics, 42, 1117-1131. doi: 10.1002/mde.3295
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Watanabe, Y. (2020). Conservation of behavioral diversity: On nudging, paternalism-induced monoculture, and the social value of heterogeneous beliefs and behavior. Mind & Society, 19, 103-120. doi: 10.1007/s11299-020-00228-2
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., Kim, J.-Y., & Jang, J.-U. (2020). Should refusal to sell be illegal? Australian Economic Papers, 59, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/1467-8454.12165
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2019). A good advisor. Bulletin of Economic Research, 71(3), 558-572. doi: 10.1111/boer.12180
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N. (2018). Decentralization mislaid: On new paternalism and skepticism toward experts. Review of Behavioral Economics, 5(3-4), 361-387. doi: 10.1561/105.00000099
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2018). Free expression and defamation. Law, Probability & Risk, 17(3), 201-223. doi: 10.1093/lpr/mgy003
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2018). Plea bargaining with multiple defendants and its deterrence effect. International Review of Law & Economics, 55, 58-70. doi: 10.1016/j.irle.2018.04.002
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Kim, J.-Y. (2018). Price discrimination in public healthcare. Australian Economic Papers, 57(2), 181-192. doi: 10.1111/1467-8454.12114
Journal - Research Article
Akhtaruzzaman, M., Berg, N., & Hajzler, C. (2017). Expropriation risk and FDI in developing countries: Does return of capital dominate return on capital? European Journal of Political Economy, 49, 84-107. doi: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2017.01.001
Journal - Research Article
Akhtaruzzaman, M., Berg, N., & Lien, D. (2017). Confucius Institutes and FDI flows from China to Africa. China Economic Review, 44, 241-252. doi: 10.1016/j.chieco.2017.02.004
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Gabel, T. (2017). Did tax cuts on earned income reduce welfare participation in Canada? Australian Tax Forum, 32(1), 175-195.
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Gabel, T. (2017). Who was affected by new welfare reform strategies? Microdata estimates from Canada. Applied Economics, 49(14), 1395-1413. doi: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1218428
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., & Preston, K. L. (2017). Willingness to pay for local food?: Consumer preferences and shopping behavior at Otago Farmers Market. Transportation Research Part A, 103, 343-361. doi: 10.1016/j.tra.2017.07.001
Journal - Research Article
Berg, N., Prakhya, S., & Ranganathan, K. (2017). A satisficing approach to eliciting risk preferences. Journal of Business Research, 82, 127-140. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.08.029