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Piruz Saboury is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Houston, part of the Business & Economics faculty. He received his Ph.D. and M.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University between 2014 and 2020, and earlier earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology in Tehran, Iran. In his role at the University of Houston, Saboury teaches economics courses to undergraduate students and plays a key role in experiential learning initiatives, including serving as the program coordinator for the Social Economy and Enterprise Academy Internship. This program connects students with nonprofit organizations in the Houston area to help them achieve their social goals through economic analysis and practical application.
Saboury's research interests center on pro-social markets and institutions, specifically philanthropy, charitable giving, social entrepreneurship, microfinance, and their contributions to poverty alleviation and economic development. He applies a variety of empirical and theoretical methods, such as game theory, laboratory experiments, and natural field experiments. Saboury maintains an affiliation with the Human Behavior Laboratory at Texas A&M University, reflecting his ongoing engagement with experimental economics. His work has been published in prominent journals, including the Journal of Public Economics and the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Key publications include "Informative fundraising: The signaling value of seed money and matching gifts" (Journal of Public Economics, 2021, with Silvana Krasteva), "The effect of seed money and matching gifts in fundraising: A lab experiment" (Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022, with Silvana Krasteva and Marco A. Palma), "Appealing to generosity to reduce food calorie intake: A natural field experiment" (Food Policy, 2022, with Jennifer Segovia and Marco A. Palma), and "Financing Repeat Borrowers: Designing Credible Incentives for Today and Tomorrow" (2022, with Anil K. Jain).