Dr. Nicoleta Acatrinei

Swiss Impact Investment Association

Head of Research and Innovation, Switzerland

We are delighted to introduce Dr. Nicoleta Acatrinei, a distinguished economist whose journey began in the world of banking but soon transcended traditional boundaries. Dr. Acatrinei’s profound curiosity led her to challenge the assumptions underlying the egoistic nature of homo oeconomicus, sparking a remarkable academic trajectory that spans a myriad of fields. Her expertise ranges from public policies, sustainable finance, and development to anthropology, moral decision-making, work psychology, theology, and digital transformation. In 2014, Dr. Acatrinei earned her Ph.D. from the prestigious Swiss Graduate School of Public Administration (IDHEAP), Switzerland. Her doctoral thesis, titled “Work motivation and pro-social behavior in the delivery of public services: theoretical and empirical insights.” She has led several research projects in USA, at Princeton University, and Switzerland at University of Lausanne, and recently in Asia and South-Asia, mainly, in the Philippines. She has authored books, book chapters and journal articles, including: Saint John Chrysostom and Homo oeconomicus (2008); Let’s talk about money, let’s talk about human nature (2007); The determinants of work motivation in the delivery of public services: the case of the Swiss education sector (2015); and Perspectives of Saint John Chrysostom for the VUCA world. An integrative mindfulness program to cope with managerial challenges in a VUCA world , and most recently “The Human Nature of Homo Oeconomicus: An Anthropological Investigation in the Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom, in Studia Patristica ( 2021), vol. 25, pp. 255-268.