Alina’s research is rooted in principles of behavioural and experimental economics, focusing on how people make choices in critical domains such as health, the environment, and prosocial behaviour. Currently, she is also pursuing an exploration of how people form beliefs, search for information and expert advice, and interact with digital technologies.

Utilising a blend of large-scale nationally representative surveys and incentivised experimental setups, Alina aims to enhance our understanding of individual and social decision-making and inform relevant policy. She is excited to explore novel data sources that tell us something about human behaviour ‘in the wild’ (rather than the lab). Her work engaging Google Mobility data showed that curfews designed to reduce the spread of the pandemic could also backfire by leading to more crowding in the hours when being out is allowed.

Currently, Alina is participating in the ERC-funded Synergy project “Smart Water Futures: Designing the Next Generation of Urban Drinking Water Systems,” which seeks to generate actionable recommendations for policymakers, utility providers, and consumers. There, her work delves into the economic, political, and welfare impacts of environmental shocks, as well as design strategies for long-term environmental policy.

Her research has produced contributions in areas such as pandemic response by addressing behavioural factors (self-selection) leading to biases in disease prevalence estimates. Her work on changes in prosocial behaviour in response to major life events, like the transition into retirement, offers policy recommendations, such as insights into the societal benefits of maintaining a reasonable retirement threshold.

In addition to her academic work, Alina has gained practical experience through roles in the Behavioural Economics and Data Science Unit at the Financial Conduct Authority (UK) and the Office for National Statistics (UK). She has also conducted market analysis projects for the Hellenic Competition Commission (HCC, Greece). Her interdisciplinary approach ensures that her research remains relevant across various fields, contributing to both academic knowledge and practical policy development.

Alina enjoys the challenge of interdisciplinary, applied work. She explores context-rich decision-making and works on linking it back to the models that would help explain and predict complex human behaviour.