Economist · Data Scientist · Research Leader
Clinical Associate Professor at the University of North Texas and former Director of Research at Borsa Istanbul, applying artificial intelligence, behavioral economics, and econometrics to financial markets, healthcare, and public policy.
Orhan Erdem is an economist and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of North Texas. His work combines artificial intelligence, data science, behavioral economics, and applied econometrics to turn complex evidence into practical insights.
Before joining UNT, he directed the Research Department at Borsa Istanbul and held academic appointments in the United States and Turkey, including at the University of Texas at Dallas, Texas A&M University-Commerce, and Rockford University.
Recent work across AI, behavioral decision-making, financial markets, housing, and health.
Explore finished interactive tools, simulations, and public-facing data projects.
A daily 7 AM briefing featuring top news, a research radar, and a chart of the day across technology, economics, finance, and medicine.
Data project
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A fixed basket of groceries at one Walmart in Irving, Texas, tracked over time as an informal real-world inflation gauge and compared with official CPI data.
Explore Interactive Chart ↗Four books spanning finance, behavioral economics, and the socioeconomics of pandemics.
CoverNew release · Available July 29, 2026
How COVID-19 Reshaped the World
A narrative exploration of how the COVID-19 pandemic transformed societies, economies, and institutions — and what history can teach us about future crises.
“A terrific book that weaves history, literature, and modern analysis into a clear and compelling narrative. Drawing on voices from Camus, Vonnegut, and Marcus Aurelius, alongside vivid storytelling such as the Dr. Karikó case, it makes sense of one of the most disorienting crises of our time without losing nuance or humanity. Above all, it captures the central truths of crisis: that the vulnerable suffer most; fear erodes logic; and democracy itself is at risk. A thoughtful, heterodox work with a final line that lingers long after the last page.” — Robert Maranto, University of Arkansas
English · Palgrave Macmillan · 2020
How the 2008 financial crisis reshaped markets, technology, society, and public trust.
About the book →Turkish · Scala Yayıncılık · 2021
Behavioral economics and the quiet ways our minds shape everyday financial decisions.
About the book →Turkish · MediaCat · 2016
Stories about how the mind quietly begins making choices before we become aware of them.
About the book →University of North Texas
Graduate teaching in data analytics, statistical modeling, machine learning, econometrics, and the practical use of AI.
Learning approach
Courses emphasize hands-on analysis, careful interpretation, reproducible work, and communicating results to nontechnical audiences.
Speaking
Talks and workshops on AI in the workplace, behavioral economics, market behavior, and applied analytics.
Podcast · English
Economics and current events, with conversations spanning financial bubbles, bank runs, technology, and policy.
Podcast · Türkçe
Story-driven episodes about stock markets, Bitcoin, bubbles, behavioral economics, and economic geography.
For research collaboration, speaking, media inquiries, or applied analytics projects: