Joaquin Peris

For Joaquin Peris, pursuing a PhD seemed like the natural next step in a lifelong journey of learning.

“I genuinely enjoy learning and working with new ideas,” Peris says. “I would like to devote my life to it. I think an academic career would be a perfect way to delight in knowledge.”

Peris is particularly interested in information as the key ingredient to understanding markets and helping corporations make decisions. “Accounting is the field that focuses on understanding the fundamental role of information in business and economic settings,” he says. “And Columbia Business School is among the best places worldwide for financial accounting research.”

Traditional theory, Peris says, has relied on the assumption that economic agents are rational. There are a number of researchers that challenge this assumption with empirical evidence, “but very few proposed an alternative way of understanding human behavior in a theoretical framework,” he says. “I am interested in exploring new ways of modeling human behavior and the consequences this has on information transmission.”

At CBS, Peris especially enjoyed his economic theory class. “The use of mathematics as a language to discuss economic concepts is beautiful,” he says.

Beyond the classroom, Peris has found connection and support from faculty, too. When he approached a professor in his department about a new research project, the professor, who is an expert on the topic, was so interested in Peris’s work that he decided to collaborate with Peris on the project.

“I think this example reflects the dynamism that characterizes the School,” Peris says. “Columbia Business School is a hub of interesting people. It is the right place to find people who share the same passion: better understanding the world we live in.”