Kevin McCabe

- Professor of Economics, Law, and Neuroscience, George Mason University, Director, Center for the Study of Neuroeconomics, George Mason University, Senior Research Fellow
Kevin McCabe is a professor of economics, law, and neuroscience at George Mason University, director of GMU's Center for the Study of Neuroeconomics, co-director of the Neuroscience Imaging Core at the Krasnow Institute (NICKI), and a research scholar with the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science. Kevin is also a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Prior to these current roles, he was a professor of economics at University of Arizona and a distinguished research scholar with the International Foundation for Research in Experimental Economics.
\ For a current list of publications, view Kevin's personal website .
Publications & Appearances
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
Shared Experience and Third-Party Redistribution
Using a three-player dictator-game experiment, we find that similar performance during a shared experience with a real-effort
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Shared Self-Determined Experience and Third-Party Redistribution
Using a three-player dictator-game experiment, we find that similar performance during a shared self-determined experience causes a redistributor to privilege the stakeholder who performed similarly. Sharing a self-determined experience, however, is not, in itself, sufficient to influence redistributive preferences.
- | Academic & Student Programs Academic & Student Programs
- | Journal Articles Journal Articles
Are Self-Made Men Made Equally?
Using a laboratory experiment, we examine if third party redistribution from a “Have” to a “Have-not” is affected by (1) whether a Have’s advantage is in some way self-determined and (2) whether self-determination occurs in two dimensions compared to one dimension. We find that redistribution decreases if a Have earns an advantageous opportunity or earns income.

- | Regulation Regulation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Using Neuroeconomics Experiments to Study Tort Reform
Mercatus Scholar Kevin McCabe applies neuroeconomics to tort reform analysis. His findings suggest that encouraging pre-trial settlements could effectively increase welfare among both plaintiffs and
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
Mercatus on Policy: Using Economics Experiments to Evaluate Tort Reform Proposals
Increasing costs associated with the U.S. tort system have generated widespread concern about unfairness, wasted resources, and congestion within the legal system. Tort reforms designed to promote
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Reciprocity and Social Order: What Do Experiments Tell Us About Economic Growth?
This paper makes three observations for policy-makers interested in promoting economic growth, based on the experimental work done at the Interdisciplinary Center for Economic Science. First,