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on Experimental Economics |
| By: | Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Fafchamps, Marcel; Goldstein, Markus; Leonard, Kenneth L.; Papineni, Sreelakshmi |
| Abstract: | We conduct an original lab-in-the-field experiment on the decision–making process of married couples over the allocation of rival and non-rival household goods. The experiment measures individual preferences over allocations and traces the process of deferral, consultation, communication and accommodation by which couples implement these preferences. We find few differences in individual preferences over allocations of goods. However, wives and husbands have strong preferences over process: women prefer to defer decisions to their husbands even when deferral is costly and is not observed by the husband; men rarely defer under any condition. Our study follows a randomized controlled trial that ended a year earlier and gave large cash transfers over eighteen months to half of the women in the study. We estimate the effect of treatment on the demand for agency among women and find that the receipt of cash transfers does not change women’s bargaining process except in a secret condition when the decision to defer is shrouded from her husband. This suggests that the cash transfer to women increases their demand for agency but does not change the intra-household balance of power enough to allow them to express it publicly. |
| Keywords: | bargaining power; cash transfers; decision making; intrahousehold relations; Africa; Western Africa; Nigeria |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2271 |
| By: | Kaiser, Tim; Hamdan, Jana; Menkhoff, Lukas; Xu, Yuanwei |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc24:302424 |
| By: | Erkut, Hande; Reuben, Ernesto |
| JEL: | D23 D91 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc24:302367 |
| By: | Pascaline Dupas (Princeton University, NBER, and CEPR); Camille Falezan (MIT); Seema Jayachandran (Princeton University); Mark Walsh (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | Despite the well-established importance of verbal engagement for infant language and cognitive development, many parents in low-income contexts do not converse with their infants regularly. This paper reports on a randomized field experiment evaluating a low-cost intervention designed to boost verbal engagement with infants. The intervention entails showing recent or expectant mothers a 3-minute informational video and providing them with a themed wall calendar. Six to eight months later, mothers who participated reported a stronger belief in the benefits of verbally engaging with infants, more frequent parent-infant conversations, and more advanced language and communication skills of their infants. Treatment effects on objective measures of parent-child conversation (from a recording device) and infant language and cognitive skills (from surveyors’ observations) were statistically insignificant but consistently positive. We find larger effects on objectively measured parent-child conversation immediately after the intervention, suggesting scope for a larger long-term effect had the behavior change stuck more. The intervention’s potential for low-cost implementation via health clinics makes it a promising strategy for early childhood development in low-income contexts, particularly if complemented by efforts to support habit formation. |
| Keywords: | Ghana, early childhood development; infant-directed speech; human capital; information intervention |
| JEL: | C93 D19 I21 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cepsud:324 |
| By: | Yulia Evsyukova; Felix Rusche; Wladislaw Mill |
| Abstract: | We assess the impact of discrimination on Black individuals’ job networks across the U.S. using a two-stage field experiment with 400+ fictitious LinkedIn profiles. In the first stage, we vary race via AI-generated images only and find that Black profiles’ connection requests are 13 percent less likely to be accepted. Based on users’ CVs, we find widespread discrimination across social groups. In the second stage, we exogenously endow Black and White profiles with the same networks and ask connected users for career advice. We find no evidence of direct discrimination in information provision. However, when taking into account differences in the composition and size of networks, Black profiles receive substantially fewer replies. Our findings suggest that gatekeeping is a key driver of Black-White disparities. |
| Keywords: | Discrimination, Job Networks, Labor Markets, Field Experiment |
| JEL: | J71 J15 C93 J46 D85 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2023_482v2 |
| By: | Chlond, Bettina; Goeschl, Timo; Kesternich, Martin; Werthschulte, Madeline |
| Abstract: | Many industrialized countries have recognized the need to mitigate energy cost increases faced by low-income households by fostering the adoption of energy-efficient technologies. How to meet this need is an open question, but “behavioral insights” are likely components of future policy designs. Applying well-established behavioral insights to low-income households raises questions of transportability as they are typically underrepresented in the existing evidence base. We illustrate this problem by conducting a randomized field experiment on scalable, low-cost design elements to improve program take-up in one of the world’s largest energy efficiency assistance programs. Observing investment decisions of over 1, 800 low-income households in Germany’s “Refrigerator Replacement Program”, we find that the transportability problem is real and consequential: First, the most effective policy design would not have been chosen based on existing behavioral insights. Second, design elements favored by these insights either prove ineffective or even backfire, violating ‘do no harm’ principles of policy advice. Systematic testing remains crucial for addressing the transportability problem, particularly for policies targeting vulnerable groups. |
| Keywords: | Transportability; low-income households; field experiment; randomized controlled trial; governmental welfare programs; energy efficiency; technology adoption |
| Date: | 2024–10–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:awi:wpaper:0755 |
| By: | Niklas M. Witzig |
| Abstract: | I study altruistic choices through the lens of a cognitively noisy decision-maker. I introduce a theoretical framework that demonstrates how increased cognitive noise can directionally affect altruistic decisions and put its implications to the test: In a laboratory experiment, participants make a series of binary choices between taking and giving monetary payments. In the treatment, to-be-calculated sums replace plain monetary payments, increasing the cognitive difficulty of choosing. The Treatment group exhibits a lower sensitivity towards changes in payments and decides significantly more often in favor of the other person, i.e., is more altruistic. I explore the origins of this effect with Bayesian hierarchical models and a number-comparison task, mirroring the mechanics of the altruism choices absent any altruistic preference. The treatment effect is similar in this task, suggesting that a biased perception of numerical magnitudes drives treatment differences. The probabilistic models support this interpretation. A series of additional results show a negative correlation between cognitive reflection and individual measures of cognitive noise, as well as associations between altruistic choice and number comparison. Overall, these results suggest that altruistic preferences -- and potentially social preferences more generally -- are affected by the cognitive difficulty of their implementation. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.07647 |
| By: | Eugen Dimant; Fabio Galeotti; Marie Claire Villeval (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - EM - EMLyon Business School - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how individuals select sources of information about peers' behavior and normative views, and the influence of this social information on individual behavior and both empirical and normative expectations. This is explored through two experiments (N=1, 945; N=2, 414) using a lying game, with and without known political identification. Our findings reveal a self-serving bias in the selection of information sources, with a preference for lenient sources (i.e., those presenting more tolerant empirical or normative information about lying), particularly when these sources align with an individual's political identity. We observe that being exposed to information that suggests lying is more socially acceptable increases lying behavior. Additionally, while people's normative expectations are not swayed by observing their peers' actions, these expectations are influenced by information about what peers believe is the right thing to do, underscoring the role of normative information in shaping social norms. |
| Keywords: | Social norms, Information acquisition, Peer effects, Group identity, Lying, Experiment |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04740082 |
| By: | Nobuyuki Hanaki; Yuta Shimodaira |
| Abstract: | Some researchers claim that a preference for wealth accumulation is the main cause of the long-run stagnation of the Japanese economy. A theoretical implication of people having such a preference is the widening of wealth inequality. We experimentally test this theoretical prediction by inducing wealth preference in the laboratory. When all the participants are considered, our results provide limited support for the prediction that wealth inequality widened only in one of the four conditions we considered. However, if we focus on the participants who have followed conditionally optimal paths more closely than others, the widening wealth inequality is observed in all the conditions. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1260 |
| By: | Banerjee, R.; Blunch, N-H; Cassese, D.; Gupta, N. D.; Pin, P. |
| Abstract: | An enduring question in education is whether team-based peer learning methods help improve learning outcomes among students. We randomly assign around 10, 000 middle school students in Karnataka, India, to alternative peer learning treatments in Math and English that vary the intensity of collaboration. Teamwork with co-coaching outperforms simple teamwork and incentive treatments by increasing the test scores by about 0.25 standard deviation, but only in Math. This is both statistically and economically significant for students at the bottom of the ability distribution. We develop theoretical conditions under which teamwork with co-coaching outperforms simple teamwork as a peer-learning method. |
| Keywords: | Cooperative learning methods, jigsaw, peer effects |
| JEL: | I20 I24 C93 |
| Date: | 2024–10–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2463 |
| By: | Florian H. Schneider (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen); Fanny Brun (Independent researcher); Roberto A. Weber (Department of Economics, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | We use surveys, laboratory experiments and administrative data to study how heterogeneity in the perceived immorality of work and in workers’ aversion to acting immorally impact labor market outcomes. Immoral work is associated with higher wages, both in administrative data and in causal experimental evidence. Individuals more willing to engage in immoral conduct find employment in firms and industries perceived as immoral less aversive and have higher employment rates in immoral work in the laboratory. These phenomena appear to be driven by impure social motives, reflecting a desire not to be involved with immoral work, rather than by consequentialist concerns. |
| Keywords: | Wage premium; immoral behavior; impure social preferences; sorting; experiments |
| JEL: | C92 J31 D03 |
| Date: | 2024–05–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2412 |
| By: | Comola, Margherita (Paris School of Economics); Rusinowska, Agnieszka (Paris School of Economics); Villeval, Marie Claire (CNRS, GATE) |
| Abstract: | We experimentally investigate how players with opposing views compete for influence through strategic targeting in networks. We varied the network structure, the relative influence of the opponent, and the heterogeneity of the nodes' initial opinions. Although most players adopted a best-response strategy based on their relative influence, we also observed behaviors deviating from this strategy, such as the tendency to target central nodes and avoid nodes targeted by the opponent. Targeting is also affected by affinity and opposition biases, the strength of which depends on the distribution of initial opinions. |
| Keywords: | network, influence, targeting, competition, laboratory experiment |
| JEL: | C91 D85 D91 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17315 |
| By: | Pascaline Dupas (Princeton University); Seema Jayachandran (Princeton University); Adriana Lleras-Muney (UCLA); Pauline Rossi (Ecole Polytechnique) |
| Abstract: | We conducted a randomized trial among 14, 545 households in rural Burkina Faso to test the oft-cited hypothesis that limited access to contraception is an important driver of high fertility rates in West Africa. We do not find support for this hypothesis. Women who were given free access to medical contraception for three years did not have lower birth rates; we can reject even modest effects. We cross-randomized additional interventions to address possible inefficiencies leading to low demand for free contraception, specifically misperceptions about the child mortality rate, limited exposure to opposing views about family size and contraception, and social pressure. Free contraception did not influence fertility even in combination with these other interventions. |
| Keywords: | Burkina Faso, Family planning; Demographic transition; Social norms; Randomized trial |
| JEL: | J13 J18 O12 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cepsud:327 |
| By: | Eldar Dadon (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel); Marie Claire Villeval (CNRS, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Jean- Monnet Saint-Etienne, emlyon business school, GATE, 69007, Lyon, France. IZA, Bonn, Germany); Ro’i Zultan (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O.B. 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel) |
| Abstract: | Working for a firm engaged in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) appeals to potential workers by boosting their self-image and sense of purpose. We propose an additional mechanism: CSR signals a firm’s future treatment of workers. Our model links CSR engagement with a firm’s propensity to support workers during unforeseen times of need. Under this assumption, a potential future need of the worker leads to more firms engaging in CSR and to a higher workers’ willingness to accept lower wages. Our experiment manipulates potential future needs across treatments. While the aggregate analysis does not support our theory, exploratory analysis reveals that male workers respond as predicted, whereas female workers do not. Consistently, in a risky environment, male employers increase their CSR engagement, which raises the acceptance rate among male workers. These results do not hold for female employers and workers. |
| Keywords: | CSR, signaling, labor market, experiment |
| JEL: | C91 D83 D91 J33 J62 M14 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:2415 |
| By: | Nigus, Halefom Yigzaw; Abay, Kibrom A. |
| Abstract: | In rural settings, community leaders play important roles in mobilizing resources and delivering public goods and services. However, little is known about their attributes and incentives in delivering these public goods and services. Exploiting survey, lab-in-the-field experiment, and geo-referenced data, we study the role of leaders, especially women’s leadership, and their exposure to conflict in explaining differences in cooperation among com-munity leaders in Ethiopia. We measure cooperation through a public-good experiment and examine the implications of community leaders’ characteristics. We then merge these lab-in-the field experimental data with geo-referenced data on conflict exposure to examine the implication of different types of conflict on community leaders’ cooperation behavior. We find that female leaders contribute more to public goods than their male counterparts. For example, compared to those assuming the highest official administrative responsibility in the village, women leaders contribute about 11 percent more to the public good. We also document nuanced findings that reconcile existing mixed evidence on the implication of exposure to conflict on cooperation: while conflict events that affect the whole community, such as political violence (including battles) are associated with higher cooperation, other types of conflict (e.g., demonstrations and riots) are associated with lower levels of cooperation. Finally, we identify additional predictors of cooperation among community leaders, including beliefs about other leaders’ cooperative behavior. These findings shed light on potential avenues for facilitating and fostering cooperation among community leaders. |
| Keywords: | conflicts; cooperation; leaders; public goods; women; women's empowerment; war; Africa; Eastern Africa; Ethiopia |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:2273 |
| By: | Nhat Luong (Kassel University, Germany) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the impact of visual and content-wise partitioning on the truthfulness of self-report forms. In all treatments of this experiment, participants report how many correct predictions they have made for five coin tosses. The only difference between treatments is the design of the report form. Contrary to certain literature, findings reveal that less partitioned forms correlate with increased honesty. This study contributes to policy design in self-reporting structures where honest reporting is essential. |
| Keywords: | Honesty, Self-report, Form partitioning, Behavioral economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:202326 |
| By: | Gauriot, Romain; Liu, Yang; McLaughlin, Jack; Miller, Joshua B. |
| Abstract: | Masatlioglu et al. (2023) show a strong intrinsic preference for positively skewed information over negatively skewed information through three laboratory and two field experiments. Using the provided replication package, we successfully computationally reproduce these results. Additionally, we test the robustness of the findings by employing alternative statistical tests, which confirmed the original conclusions. We also make minor comments about the paper that may be useful to researchers building on Masatlioglu et al. (2023)'s work. |
| Keywords: | replication, information preferences, skewness, information avoidance |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:164 |
| By: | Anger, Silke (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Christoph, Bernhard (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Galkiewicz, Agata (University of Potsdam); Margaryan, Shushanik (University of Potsdam); Peter, Frauke (DZHW-German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies); Sandner, Malte (Technische Hochschule Nürnberg); Siedler, Thomas (University of Potsdam) |
| Abstract: | Reading skills are crucial for academic success and long-term educational attainment. However, children from disadvantaged backgrounds read less than their more privileged peers. This study assesses the impact of a randomized reading intervention conducted in Germany targeting 11–12-year-olds from low-income households. The intervention involved distributing e-book readers, which provided free access to a large digital library of age-appropriate books, directly to the children's homes. Our results show that the intervention led to increased reading engagement among the children, which in turn improved their academic performance, particularly in reading comprehension and math. Additionally, we observe positive effects on their socio-emotional well-being. |
| Keywords: | randomized controlled trial, low socioeconomic status, reading comprehension, early education |
| JEL: | C93 I20 I24 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17322 |
| By: | Xiaoyu Cheng; Peter Klibanoff; Sujoy Mukerji; Ludovic Renou |
| Abstract: | This paper explores whether and to what extent ambiguous communication can be beneficial to the sender in a persuasion problem, when the receiver (and possibly the sender) is ambiguity averse. We provide a concavification-like characterization of the sender's optimal ambiguous communication. The characterization highlights the necessity of using a collection of experiments that form a splitting of an obedient experiment, that is, whose recommendations are incentive compatible for the receiver. At least some of the experiments in the collection must be Pareto-ranked in the sense that both the sender and receiver agree on their payoff ranking. The existence of a binary such Pareto-ranked splitting is necessary for ambiguous communication to benefit the sender, and, if an optimal Bayesian persuasion experiment can be split in this way, this is sufficient for an ambiguity-neutral sender as well as the receiver to benefit. We show such gains are impossible when the receiver has only two actions available. Such gains persist even when the sender is ambiguity averse, as long as not too much more so than the receiver and not infinitely averse. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.05504 |
| By: | Firestone, Berenike; Ditlmann, Ruth; Turkoglu, Oguzhan |
| Abstract: | Awareness of past atrocities is widely seen as critical for restoring justice and building resilient democracies. Yet, confronting people with past injustice committed by their group can also lead to defensiveness. Through a survey experiment (n=2, 198), we measured the effect of three different prototypical forms of information about the Holocaust on intentions to commemorate the Holocaust, intentions to counter antisemitism, and attitudes towards minoritized groups. We find that all three forms demonstrate overall effectiveness in mobilizing individuals for commemoration and against antisemitism and improving their attitudes towards minoritized groups. We find heterogeneous treatment effects by party affiliation. For far-right supporters, reading about the story of an individual victim is particularly effective. For others, formats that center the sheer extent of atrocities or focus on symbolic justice efforts have greater mobilizing potential. We repeated the survey with the same respondents three months later (Nov 2023), following the start of the Israel-Gaza war, and found that means and treatment effects are overall stable despite the change in context. The results demonstrate the power of providing people with information about past atrocities and injustice for political mobilization and prejudice reduction. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbtod:304306 |
| By: | Chen, Frederick (Wake Forest University, Economics Department); He, Haosen (University of California, Berkeley); Yu, Chu A.(Alex) (Wake Forest University, Economics Department) |
| Abstract: | We formulate and numerically solve a game-theoretic model of rational agents' self-protective actions in an epidemic game with information delay. We then compare our model simulation results with data collected from real human players in an online experiment conducted by Chen et al (2013). We find that, compared with game-theoretic agents, human players receive poorer endgame outcomes due to a lack of synchronization in their self-protective actions. In addition, human players' decisions are dependent on their infection history, and they are less responsive to changes in disease prevalence compared to game-theoretic agents. Our results suggest that human players in the epidemic game differ substantially from fully rational, forward-looking, strategic agents in terms of both player outcomes and decision-making mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Game theory; Dynamic game; Economic epidemiology; Mathematical epidemiology; Epidemics; Information delay; Coninuous-state dynamic programming; Numerical simulation |
| JEL: | C63 C73 I12 |
| Date: | 2024–10–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:wfuewp:0119 |
| By: | Hampel, Tim |
| Abstract: | Mistakes at work can lead to learning and personal development or can massively harm one's professional career. How a mistake affects a professional career often depends on how it is perceived by involved individuals (e.g. supervisors). In the present study we investigate two different types of mistakes at work: mistakes in routine and complex work tasks. In two experiments with 192 alumni of a German university we tested whether mistakes in routine tasks are judged differently than mistakes in complex work tasks. Results revealed that mistakes are judged significantly more negative when occurring in a routine work task compared to a complex work task. The results of our study give rise to a dilemma of mistakes at work where on basis of dual process theories mistakes are more likely to happen in routinized tasks while at the same time these mistakes are judged more negatively. We discuss an intervention to resolve the dilemma and suggest avenues for future research alongside the limitations of our study. |
| Keywords: | mistakes at work, errors, failures, attitudes towards mistakes, career development |
| JEL: | M |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iubhbm:304403 |
| By: | Fallucchi, Francesco; Marietta Leina, Andrea; Silva, Rui; Turocy, Theodore L. |
| Abstract: | Gill and Prowse (2023) study response times using a repeated p-beauty contest (p = 0.7). Looking at between-subject variation in response times, they found that subjects who think for longer, on average, win more rounds and choose lower numbers. When comparing average response times and level-k behavior, they observed that higher k types think for longer. In general, we are able to reproduce their findings, despite a minor coding error and some missing information. We test the robustness of their results by comparing average and median response times and choices, separating the sample into quick and slow respondents, including additional controls, and different estimation parameters. We do not find differences between choices between slow and quick respondents, somewhat contradicting their conclusions. Moreover, most subjects played faster as the game was repeated. The remaining results are robust to the inclusion of cohort effects and different parameter specifications in their regressions. |
| Keywords: | beauty contest, response times, level-k, strategic complexity |
| JEL: | C71 C92 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:170 |
| By: | Cuimin Ba (University of Pittsburgh); J. Aislinn Bohren (University of Pennsylvania); Alex Imas (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how cognitive constraints—namely, attention and processing capacity—interact with properties of the learning environment to determine how people react to information. In our model, people form a simplified mental representation of the environment via salience-channeled attention, then process information with cognitive imprecision. The model predicts overreaction to information when environments are complex, signals are noisy, information is surprising, or priors are concentrated on less salient states; it predicts underreaction when environments are simple, signals are precise, information is expected, or priors are concentrated on salient states. Results from a series of pre-registered experiments provide support for these predictions and direct evidence for the proposed cognitive mechanisms. We show that the two psychological mechanisms act as cognitive complements: their interaction is critical for explaining belief data and together they yield a highly complete model in terms of capturing explainable variation in belief-updating. Our theoretical and empirical results connect disparate findings in prior work: underreaction is typically found in laboratory studies, which feature simple learning settings, while overreaction is more prevalent in financial markets which feature greater complexity. |
| Keywords: | overreaction, underreaction, beliefs, noisy cognition, representativeness, bounded rationality, attention, mental representation, completeness, restrictiveness, behavioral economics, learning, forecasting, inference |
| Date: | 2024–08–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:24-030 |
| By: | Chand, Tara; Weiß, Martin; Gutzeit, Julian |
| Abstract: | Taylor et al. (2023) explored the impact of identity cues on online behavior, employing a large-scale field experiment on a social news aggregation website. Findings reveal that identity cues significantly influence how individuals form opinions and engage with online content, accounting for 28% to 61% of variation in voting associated with commenters' production, reputation, and reciprocity. The results highlight the role of identity cues in perpetuating social content evaluation disparities and suggest anonymized content votes could enhance overall content quality on social platforms. In the replication analysis of this study, we utilized the provided script on the same data, which was provided by the paper's author following non-disclosure agreements. Further the robustness of the results was also tested after applying a mixed effects model instead of the linear probability model. Our replication confirmed the overall reproducibility of the results using the provided script, but there were notable changes in the estimates. In our analysis, the variation in individuals forming opinions and engaging with online content, as measured by voting associated with commenters' production, reputation, and reciprocity, ranged from 15% to 60% due to identity cues. This indicates that a few effects are somewhat smaller than in the original study. Moreover, when using our alternative analytic approach, the results remained generally robust, but there were exceptions. Specifically, the model assessing the impact of identity cues on individuals in voting associated with commenters' production yielded different results: We generally found stronger evidence in form of higher statistical significance for the claims of the authors. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:172 |
| By: | Chaliasos, Michael |
| Abstract: | Findings from four recent projects on how neighbors, peers, financial advisors, and exogenous stressors affect wealth accumulation are presented. Having neighbors with college economics or business education promotes retirement saving. Greater local wealth inequality and mobility at the start of economic life motivate college graduates to take portfolio risks and achieve greater wealth, leaving others behind. Financial advice from unbiased professionals differs from peer advice in how it relates to advisor and advisee characteristics. Background stressors, such as crises, wars, and personal problems, occupy savers' minds. In an incentivized online experiment, background cognitive load consistently dampened consumption and promoted saving. |
| Keywords: | Wealth accumulation, peer effects, household finance, retirement saving, wealth inequality, financial advice, cognitive load |
| JEL: | G5 G11 E21 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:imfswp:304393 |
| By: | Breitkopf, Laura; Chowdhury, Shyamal; Priyam, Shambhavi; Schildberg-Hörisch, Hannah; Sutter, Matthias |
| Abstract: | We study the relationship between parenting style and a broad range of children's skills and outcomes. Based on survey and experimental data from 5, 580 children and their parents, we find that children exposed to positive parenting have higher IQs, are more altruistic, open to new experiences, conscientious, and agreeable, have a higher locus of control, self-control, and self-esteem, perform better in scholarly achievement tests, behave more prosocially in everyday life, and are more satisfied with their life. Positive parenting is negatively associated with children's neuroticism, patience, engagement in risky behaviors, and their emotional and behavioral problems. |
| Keywords: | parenting style, child outcomes, economic preferences, personality traits, IQ |
| JEL: | C91 D01 D10 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:304410 |
| By: | Mendelson Haim; Zhu Mingxi |
| Abstract: | Online lending has garnered significant attention in IS literature, particularly platform lending, but direct (balance sheet) lending is increasingly critical. This paper explores optimal information acquisition strategies for direct online lenders, addressing the broader question: Should a decision-maker rely on multiple lean experiments or opt for a single grand experiment? We first examine a model where an online lender issuing unsecured loans maximizes its expected NPV at an exogenous interest rate, finding that a lean experimentation strategy is optimal. However, when the interest rate is endogenous, the choice between lean and grand experimentation depends on the demand elasticity. If elasticity is increasing or constant, the lender prefers a grand experiment, offering the same loan terms in each period. We also analyze consumer segmentation and demonstrate how higher income variability benefits the lender through more effective experimentation. In addition, we investigate hybrid information architectures that combine dynamic experimentation with traditional static models. Our results show that the hybrid architecture enhances lender profitability, offering a flexible approach that integrates sequential learning with static information. The study contributes to understanding how different information architectures affect lending strategies, experimentation, and profitability in online lending. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2410.05539 |
| By: | Cornago Bonal, Luis; Raffaelli, Francesco (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | Do political identities influence workers’ willingness to cooperate at work? Do workers prefer copartisans over outpartisans as colleagues even at the expense of competence? This article introduces a novel theory of how political identities per- meate modern workplaces in knowledge economies, where collaboration and non- cognitive skills are crucial. An original survey experiment conducted in the United Kingdom reveals that workers prefer to avoid working closely with outpartisans and favour collaborating with copartisans. While highly competent workers are gener- ally preferred over less competent ones, their favorability declines significantly if they are outpartisans. A new measure of affective polarization at work, which ex- ploits open-ended survey items, suggests that some individuals perceive partisan and Brexit identities to signal relevant information about non-cognitive skills they highly value in colleagues. More broadly, this article contributes to our under- standing of the challenges to workplace cooperation in knowledge economies with significant levels of affective polarization. |
| Date: | 2024–10–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:j43tn |
| By: | Emir Kamenica (University of Chicago); Xiao Lin (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | When does a Sender, in a Sender-Receiver game, strictly value commitment? In a setting with finite actions and finite states, we establish that, generically, Sender values commitment if and only if he values randomization. In other words, commitment has no value if and only if a partitional experiment is optimal under commitment. Moreover, if Sender’s preferred cheap-talk equilibrium necessarily involves randomization, then Sender values commitment. We also ask: how often (i.e., for what share of preference profiles) does commitment have no value? For any prior, any independent, atomless distribution of preferences, and any state space: if there are |A| actions, the likelihood that commitment has no value is at least 1 |A||A| . As the number of states grows large, this likelihood converges precisely to 1 |A||A| . |
| Keywords: | Bayesian persuasion; cheap talk |
| JEL: | D80 D83 |
| Date: | 2024–10–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:24-033 |