Author: Nolan Sherwood (MS IDEC ’26)
“How did I get here?” One year into my IDEC master’s program, this question feels like a familiar old friend. Maybe it’s because that’s the question that echoed in my mind while trying to figure out why my R script was still spitting out errors during every econometrics homework assignment. What do you mean there is still an unrecognized argument??? Maybe it’s because I am so happy with my decision to leave a desk job in international logistics and want to make sure I keep making great choices! Perhaps it was because that’s what I was asking myself this summer when, as part of my field research project, I found myself in a warehouse surrounded by hundreds of thousands of snails in various stages of preparation for a snail festival in Southern Italy. Okay, let’s rewind.
Before IDEC, I worked in international logistics. It was fast-paced and global, but every time I asked a question beyond the scope of my role, the answer was usually, “I don’t know” or “we don’t have to worry about that.” I needed something deeper that would let me dig into the why behind problems, not just gloss over them. Economics wasn’t my background (this was a leap into something new for me), but my undergrad in cognitive science had already sparked an interest in human decision-making. IDEC felt like the perfect place to connect that curiosity with analytical tools and real-world applications.
In June, two other master’s students and I set off for Italy. Our mission sounded straightforward but was daunting in practice: help address the knowledge gap on why Southern Italy is less economically developed than the North. There are many competing explanations for this North-South divide, but one of the most enduring ideas is that cultural norms in the South discourage cooperation in ways that harm development. It’s controversial and often debated, but rarely tested with field experiments. That was our start.
Together with Professor Alessandra Cassar, we designed a study using classic economic games. Participants played scenarios like the dictator game (allocating money between themselves and another person) and public goods games (contributing to a communal pot that would be multiplied and redistributed). Participants played with family or strangers. Afterwards, everyone filled out surveys capturing values and norms. For me, the best part was watching the games unfold in real time. I loved seeing how people played, and secretly always tried to guess what I thought people would do.
Of course, what we practiced on campus back home looked a lot different from what we ended up doing. Running these games in Southern Italy meant navigating language barriers (none of us spoke Italian), long research days, and cultural experiences we hadn’t anticipated. We partnered with local researchers who could facilitate the games while we assisted, and in exchange, we got roped into helping with their project: preparing snails for an enormous town festival. Come for the data, stay for the slime, I guess.
Research days were long, but when we weren’t working, we had amazing beaches, food, and art at our doorstep. My favorite town was Otranto, with its streets that glowed white at night and Greek-style architecture. Other highlights included walking through Pompeii, imagining the daily lives of people frozen in time, and, of course, eating a Margherita pizza in Naples that rocked my world.
This project isn’t ending with the summer. I plan to carry forward the data and insights into my thesis, and I look forward to exploring how these themes of cooperation, trust, and norms might shape my future work. More than anything, the experience cemented my interest in behavioral and development economics, fields that let me connect cognitive science roots with pressing real-world questions.
From snail festivals to dictator games, this summer gave me so many unforgettable experiences. I came back with not just data, but also stories, friendships, and a renewed sense of why I chose this path. Economics is about people, and people are best understood not just in theory but in context. So, revisiting my question from the beginning – how did I get here? By taking a leap from logistics into economic research, by not being afraid of tackling big questions, and by being willing to get my hands dirty – sometimes literally.
