nep-cbe New Economics Papers
on Cognitive and Behavioural Economics
Issue of 2019‒12‒16
four papers chosen by
Marco Novarese
Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale

  1. Child's Socio-Emotional Skills: Is There a Quantity-Quality Trade-off? By Simon Briole; Hélène Le Forner; Anthony Lepinteur
  2. Parenting Values Moderate the Intergenerational Transmission of Time Preferences By Brenøe, Anne Ardila; Epper, Thomas
  3. Neuroeconomics and modern neuroscience By Daniel Serra
  4. Harnessing the Power of Social Incentives to Curb Shirking in Teams By Brice Corgnet; Brian Gunia; Roberto Hernán González

  1. By: Simon Briole (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Hélène Le Forner (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - Ecole Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Anthony Lepinteur (University of Luxembourg [Luxembourg])
    Abstract: Though it is largely admitted that non-cognitive skills matter for adult outcomes, little is known about how the family environment affects their formation. In this paper, we use a cohort study of children born in 2000-2001 in the U.K. (Millennium Cohort Study) to estimate the effect of family size on socio-emotional skills, measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. To account for the endogeneity of fertility decisions, we use a well-known instrumental approach that exploits parents' preference for children's gender diversity. We show that an increase in family size negatively affects the socioemotional skills of the two first children in a persistent manner. However, we show that this negative effect is entirely driven by girls. We provide evidence that this gender effect is partly driven by an unequal response of parents' time investment in favor of boys and, to a lesser extent, to an unequal demand for household chores.
    Keywords: Non-cognitive skills,Family Size,Birth Order,Child development
    Date: 2019–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-02331899&r=all
  2. By: Brenøe, Anne Ardila (University of Zurich); Epper, Thomas (University of St. Gallen)
    Abstract: We study the intergenerational transmission of time preferences in a setting without reverse causality concerns. We find substantial transmission of patience from parents to children, which is insensitive to the inclusion of comprehensive sets of administratively reported controls and persists as children age. We further explore heterogeneity in the transmission with respect to two theoretically important but distinct dimensions of socialization through which parents can influence children's traits: parenting values and parental involvement. Our results show that, in contrast to authoritative parents, authoritarian and permissive parents transmit patience to their offspring. Meanwhile, parental involvement is not an important moderator. These patterns replicate in an independent sample with richer measures of parental involvement.
    Keywords: intergenerational transmission, time preferences, patience, parenting style, parenting values, parental involvement
    JEL: J12 J24 J62
    Date: 2019–10
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12710&r=all
  3. By: Daniel Serra (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - UM - Université de Montpellier - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique)
    Abstract: The paper is an overview of the main significant advances in the knowledge of brain functioning by modern neuroscience that have contributed to the emergence of neuroeconomics and its rise over the past two decades. These advances are grouped over three non-independent topics referred to as the "emo-rational" brain, "social" brain, and "computational" brain. For each topic, it emphasizes findings considered as critical to the birth and development of neuroeconomics while highlighting some of prominent questions about which knowledge should be improved by future research. In parallel, it shows that the boundaries between neuroeconomics and several recent subfields of cognitive neuroscience, such as affective, social, and more generally, decision neuroscience, are rather porous. It suggests that a greater autonomy of neuroeconomics should perhaps come from the development of studies about more economic policy-oriented concerns. In order to make the paper accessible to a large audience the various neuroscientific notions used are defined and briefly explained. In the same way, for economists not specialized in experimental and behavioral economics, the definition of the main economic models referred to in the text is recalled.
    Keywords: neuroeconomics,neuroscience,behavioral economics,experimental economics
    Date: 2019
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-02160907&r=all
  4. By: Brice Corgnet (Emlyon Business School); Brian Gunia (Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University); Roberto Hernán González (Burgundy School of Business, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté)
    Abstract: We study several solutions to shirking in teams that trigger social incentives by reshaping the workplace social context. Using an experimental design, we manipulate social pressure at work by varying the type of workplace monitoring and the extent to which employees engage in social interaction. This design allows us to assess the effectiveness as well as the popularity of each solution. Despite similar effectiveness in boosting productivity across solutions, only organizational systems involving social interaction (via chat) were at least as popular as a baseline treatment. This suggests that any solution based on promoting social interaction is more likely to be embraced by workers than monitoring systems alone.
    Keywords: Social Incentives; Social Pressure; Moral Hazard in Teams; Laboratory Experiments
    JEL: C92 D23 D91 M54
    Date: 2019
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:19-30&r=all

This nep-cbe issue is ©2019 by Marco Novarese. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
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