Economics and Decision Sciences

J Braxton Gately
Assistant Professor of Economics              Dr. J. Braxton Gately

Stipes Hall 430K
jb-gately@wiu.edu

Personal Website: https://jbgatelyecon.wixsite.com/website

Ph.D. Economics, the University of Arkansas, 2021; Economic Experiments on Conflict,
Information Acquisition, and Public Goods.

M.A. Economics, the University of Arkansas, 2018

B.B.A. Economics, Hardin-Simmons University, 2016

Dr. Gately is a behavioral economist whose research focuses on the factors influencing group
dynamics (such as how people manipulate their beliefs, how different types of people work
together, how groups form, and how group identity impacts decision-making) as well as
property rights and the economics of rural America. He uses primarily experimental methods to
investigate these topics.


Dr. Gately is currently responsible for teaching Principles of Microeconomics, and maintains
teaching interests in experimental and behavioral economics, as well as the economics of rural
issues and the history of economic thought. Dr. Gately has worked with undergraduate
students on research both during graduate school and during his postdoc at Baylor University,
and has a passion for working with both undergraduate and graduate students on research
projects. He is a member of the Behavioral Economics and Organization research Group (BEORG). 

Selected Research Papers

  • “At Least I Tried: Partial Willful Ignorance, Information Acquisition, and Social Preferences.” (2024). Review of Behavioral Economics.

Course Responsibilities

  • ECON232 - Principles of Microeconomics
  • ECON332 - Price Theory