Heidi H. Liu

Heidi Liu investigates how legal decision-makers use — and unintentionally misuse — the information that surrounds them in courts, boardrooms, and everyday negotiation. Using experimental and statistical methods, she studies the impact of emerging laws that restrict information and develops new procedural interventions grounded in behavioral science. Her research covers contexts such as job applications and jury instructions, and behaviors such as gender stereotyping and risk-taking, with implications for employment discrimination and evidence.

Dr. Liu’s research appears in the Journal of Legal Studies, the Southern California Law Review (forthcoming), and the Harvard Business Review, among other law reviews and peer-reviewed journals. Her work has been supported by Pivotal Ventures and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, as well as the Multidisciplinary Program in Inequality and Social Policy, the Women and Public Policy Program, the Mind, Brain and Behavior Program, and the John M. Olin Fellowship at Harvard.

Dr. Liu received her AB in economics magna cum laude from Harvard College and her JD and PhD in public policy from Harvard University. Prior to her graduate studies, she was a research assistant for the book Nudge, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, and worked at an economic consulting firm. During her graduate studies, she worked as an editor for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Gender Action Portal and at a Silicon Valley law firm.