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on Experimental Economics |
| By: | Jeanne Hagenbach (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, WZB - Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, CEPR - Center for Economic Policy Research); Aurélien Salas (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | We experimentally study how individuals strategically disclose multidimensional information to a Naive Bayes algorithm trained to guess their characteristics. Subjects' objective is to minimize the algorithm's accuracy in guessing a target characteristic. We vary what participants know about the algorithm's functioning and how obvious are the correlations between the target and other characteristics. Optimal disclosure strategies rely on subjects identifying whether the combination of their characteristics is common or not. Information about the algorithm functioning makes subjects identify correlations they otherwise do not see but also overthink. Overall, this information decreases the frequency of optimal disclosure strategies. |
| Keywords: | Strategic disclosure, Experiments, Data management, Classification algorithms |
| Date: | 2025–12–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05464751 |
| By: | Valentin Favre-Bulle; Sylvain Weber |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives, individually and combined, on residential electricity consumption. A field experiment in Switzerland provided all participants with access to a custom-developed app offering feedback on electricity use and energy-saving tips. In addition to the control group, one treatment group received social comparisons based on savings relative to similar households, while a second group additionally received financial rewards linked to their electricity savings. We find no strong evidence of treatment effects. We do not observe crowding-out effect from combining monetary and non-monetary incentives, as the difference between treatments is not significant. Treatment effects appear to differ between PV and non-PV owners, with some indication of greater effectiveness for the latter, though further research is needed. Compared to a non-participant group, participation in the experiment and use of the application marginally reduced electricity consumption. |
| Keywords: | Household electricity usage; Demand-side management; Smart metering; Randomised control trial; Field experiment; Difference-in-differences; Crowding-out effect; Social incentives; Financial incentives. |
| JEL: | C93 D12 L94 Q41 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irn:wpaper:26-04 |
| By: | Rohen Shah (University of Chicago) |
| Abstract: | High-dosage tutoring has the potential to substantially raise adolescent academic achievement, but schools may lack the resources to deliver small-group tutoring frequently at scale. This paper studies the relative importance of tutoring group size (quality) versus tutoring frequency (quantity) using a randomized controlled trial in a Midwestern U.S. charter middle school. Students were randomized to a control group, tutoring twice a week in 2-student groups, or tutoring three times a week in 3-student groups, with equal total cost per student across the two treatment arms. The results show that tutoring in 2-student groups led to a statistically significant improvement in math skills of 0.23 standard deviations, while the more frequent 3-student group tutoring did not produce significant gains. The findings suggest that, under budget constraints, smaller group size may be more effective than higher frequency. |
| Date: | 2026–01–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwl:cwldpp:2493 |
| By: | Hernán Bejarano (CIDE-ESI-Chapman University); Matías Busso (IDB); Juan Francisco Santos (IDB) |
| Abstract: | We study how individuals in six Latin American countries value public versus private provision of education and healthcare using a survey experiment. Respondents were randomly assigned to vignettes that vary income, service quality, and provider type. Reported service quality is the main driver of choices: the probability of selecting a private provider roughly doubles when reported quality of the public option falls from 80 to 20 percent, while income has a smaller effect. Higher institutional trust lowers the likelihood of switching to private providers but does not affect willingness to payonce individuals choose private provision. |
| Keywords: | Stated preferences; Willingness to pay; Public versus private provision;Service quality; Latin America |
| JEL: | D12 H42 I21 I18 O54 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aoz:wpaper:385 |
| By: | Arto Arman; Andreas Beerli; Aljosha Henkel; Michel André Maréchal |
| Abstract: | We study how incarceration experience shapes preferences for criminal justice policies. In collaboration with a newly opened prison, we conducted a randomized field experiment that offered citizens the opportunity to experience up to two days of incarceration, closely replicating the real-life journey of inmates. Providing citizens with a chance to gain firsthand incarceration leads to a significant shift in punitive attitudes, with participants becoming less supportive of harsh criminal justice policies and donating more money to organizations advocating more moderate justice policies. Although individuals overestimated the wellbeing of actual prisoners, the intervention did not alter these beliefs. This suggests that the observed changes in policy preferences are driven more by personal experience than by revised beliefs about the burden of confinement. By randomizing institutional exposure outside the laboratory, our study highlights the causal role of personal experience in the formation of policy preferences. |
| Keywords: | Incarceration, field experiment, personal experience, criminal justice policy, punitive attitudes, prison |
| JEL: | C93 D83 K14 P37 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:485 |
| By: | Salamatu Nanna Adam |
| Abstract: | Understanding what drives people to get tested for HIV is essential for designing effective communication strategies that promote test uptake. In this study, I use a randomized experiment to examine whether and how the format of information affects HIV testing behavior among university students in Ghana. Providing factual information on HIV incidence and the availability of nearby testing services increased actual testing rates by about 1 percentage point from a near-zero baseline. In contrast, adding a story about the testing experience to this statistical information did not generate any additional effect. Financial incentives, introduced non-randomly, raised testing rates to 11 percent. Interestingly, the impact of the original information treatments diminished when a financial incentive became available. Analysis of belief outcomes indicates that the information treatment primarily worked by increasing awareness of local testing services and correcting misperceptions about peer testing behavior, rather than by heightening perceived risk. However, stories did not enhance the treatment effect on beliefs or information recall beyond the impact of simple statistical facts. These results suggest that factual information can effectively address informational barriers to HIV testing in this context, while narrative elements offer no measurable added benefit for influencing this high stakes health behavior. |
| Keywords: | Beliefs, Recall, Stories/Narratives, Statistics, Information, Incentives |
| JEL: | D83 D91 I12 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp805 |
| By: | Antoine Prévotat (Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Université Lyon 2, Emlyon Business School, GATE, 42100, Saint-Etienne, France); Zoi Terzopoulou (CNRS, Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Université Lyon 2, Emlyon Business School, GATE, 42100, Saint-Etienne, France); Adam Zylbersztejn (Université Lyon 2, Université Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Emlyon Business School, GATE, CNRS, 69007, Lyon, France; research fellow at Vistula University Warsaw (AFiBV), Warsaw, Poland) |
| Abstract: | In a controlled laboratory experiment, we examine voting behavior under rule uncertainty, i.e., uncertainty about the voting rule itself. We compare behavior under three voting-rule conditions: simple plurality (1R), plurality with runoff (2R), and their probabilistic mixture (1R/2R) that is a lottery generating either 1R with known probability p, or 2R with probability 1-p. Following the previous literature, we conjecture that 1R/2R raises computational complexity and thus mitigates strategic manipulation. We test different models – either heuristic-based or rational – of (i) the formation of beliefs about other voters’ behavior, and of (ii) the resulting voting decisions. We find that beliefs tend to be formed in a myopic manner in all experimental conditions. With repetition, however, the accuracy of the belief formation process improves and we observe convergence between beliefs and votes. Regarding voting decisions, the model with highest (resp., lowest) predictive power is strategic (resp., sincere) voting, with some variation across conditions. Overall, our initial conjecture is not supported by the experimental data. Rule uncertainty steers the voters neither towards sincerity nor towards any other voting heuristic. If anything, it contributes to promoting strategic behavior. |
| Keywords: | Rule uncertainty; strategic voting; sincere voting; heuristics; plurality; plurality with runoff; economic experiment |
| JEL: | C23 C72 C91 C92 D72 D91 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:2603 |
| By: | Adena, Maja; Alabrese, Eleonora; Capozza, Francesco; Leader, Isabelle |
| Abstract: | We test whether AI-generated news images affect outlet demand and trust. In a preregistered experiment with 2, 870 UK adults, the same article was paired with a wireservice photo (with/without credit) or a matched AI image (with/without label). Average newsletter demand changes little. Ex-post photo origin recollection is poor, and many believe even the real photo is synthetic. Beliefs drive behavior: thinking the image is AI cuts demand and perceived outlet quality by about 10 p.p., even when the photo is authentic; believing it is real has the opposite effect. Labels modestly reduce penalties but do little to correct mistaken attributions. |
| Keywords: | AI, Demand for News, Trust, Online Experiment |
| JEL: | C81 C93 D83 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbiii:336444 |
| By: | Timko, Christina; Adena, Maja |
| Abstract: | Behavioral design in smartphone apps aims at inducing certain, monetizable behavior, mainly increased engagement, measurable by usage time. Such design is rarely transparent and often restricts users' ability to make alternative choices. In a framed field experiment, we document that behavioral design doubles app usage time compared to a version without behavioral elements. Providing users with choices-simply explained and conveniently adjustable design features-reduces usage time and increases their willingness to pay for the app. These findings suggest that offering choice could pave the way for new business models based on more responsible app design. |
| Keywords: | smartphone app, behavioral control, filtering algorithm, transparency and choice, self-determination, corporate social responsibility, field experiment |
| JEL: | C93 O33 D83 L86 M14 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbiii:336445 |
| By: | Mats Ekman; Niklas Jakobsson; Andreas Kotsadam |
| Abstract: | We conduct a pre-registered randomized controlled trial to test for income targeting in labor supply decisions among sellers of a Swedish street paper. These workers face liquidity constraints, high income volatility, and discretion over hours. Treated individuals received a 25 percent bonus per copy sold for the duration of an issue, simulating an increase in earnings potential. Treated sellers sold more papers, worked longer hours, and took fewer days off. These findings contrast with studies on intertemporal labor supply that find small substitution effects. Notably, when we apply strategies similar to observational studies, we recover patterns consistent with income targeting. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.11992 |
| By: | Pisch, Frank; Rossmann, Vitus; Jussupow, Ekaterina; Ingendahl, Franziska; Undorf, Monika |
| Abstract: | Ever more frequent and intense collaboration with agents based on Large Language Models (LLMs) at work and in daily life raises the question of whether this affects how humans view and treat each other. We conducted a randomized laboratory experiment with 158 participants who collaborated with either a human or an LLM-based assistant to solve a complex language task. Afterwards, we measured whether the type of collaborator influenced participants’ prosocial attitudes (through implicit association tests) and behavior (in dictator games). Interacting with an LLM-based assistant led to a reduction of prosociality, but only for participants who identified as female. A mediation analysis suggests that these findings are due to an erosion of trust in the LLM-based assistant's benevolence in the female subsample. Such spillover effects of collaborating with AI on interactions between humans must feature in the evaluation of the societal consequences of artificial intelligence and warrant further research. |
| Date: | 2025–10–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:158953 |
| By: | Brückmann, G. PhD (University of Bern); El-Ajou, Walid; Stadelmann-Steffen, Isabelle |
| Abstract: | In this pre-registered experiment, we describe how we use a full-fledged serious game, developed in collaboration with energy modellers, energy system experts, and game designers, as an experimental treatment in a large-scale population survey in Switzerland. While previous research has used serious games mostly for targeted and relatively small groups, we assess whether serious gaming has the potential to serve as an effective information tool for the broader population. More specifically, we test whether serious games can influence individual opinion formation on complex issues, such as the energy transition, arguing that the immersive nature of a serious game may be more effective than conventional information treatments in triggering learning effects and ultimately influencing opinion formation. Based on our results, we show that playing the game did not, on a general level, produce any significant effects on either efficacy or policy support. However, the game led to varying reactions among players and influenced support for expanding specific energy sources in accordance with the game’s implications. In light of these nuanced results, we discuss implications for researches and stakeholders. |
| Date: | 2026–01–23 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:x5u6b_v1 |
| By: | Yuhao Fu; Nobuyuki Hanaki |
| Abstract: | This experimental study investigates how people rely on different sources of advice when detecting AI-generated fake news (deepfake news). In a laboratory deepfake detection task, student participants identified the proportion of human-written (non-AI-generated) content in synthetic deepfake news articles and received advice from ChatGPT (GPT-4), human peers, or linguistic experts. The results show that participants rely more on ChatGPT than on human peers when detecting GPT-2-generated deepfake news. Participants also rely more on linguistic experts than on peers, while the relative reliance on experts versus ChatGPT is mixed across experimental waves, potentially reflecting time trends in beliefs about AI-based detection. Moreover, performance improvements reflect the joint role of reliance and advice quality, arising primarily when participants rely on high-quality advice. Overall, relying on AI to detect AI-generated deepfakes can improve detection outcomes, but only when AI-based detection tools are of sufficiently high quality. These findings highlight the dual role of GAI as both a source of deepfakes and a tool for mitigating related risks. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1233rr |
| By: | Salamatu Nanna Adam |
| Abstract: | I investigate two potential barriers that may limit demand for condoms: inadequate information about health risks and fear of social stigma associated with condom purchases. Using a randomized experiment, I test whether providing information about (i) health risks and (ii) peers’ views regarding the social appropriateness of condom purchase can increase condom demand among young adults in Ghana. I find that providing health risk information led to a 32% increase in demand. In contrast, providing additional information about peers’ views regarding the social appropriateness of condom purchase had no meaningful effect on condom demand. Moreover, the effect of health risk information on condom demand is persistent. Interestingly, even though I document persistent effects of health risk information on condom demand, I find that information has temporary effects on perceptions about the appropriateness of using condoms. These results suggest that targeted information can durably shift health behavior even when underlying perceptions remain slow to change. |
| Keywords: | beliefs, misperceptions, information, health risk, social stigma, learning |
| JEL: | D83 D91 I12 J13 |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp808 |
| 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, particularly the assumption that the marginal utility of wealth accumulation has a positive lower bound while that of consumption does not, is a widening of wealth inequality. We experimentally test this theoretical prediction by inducing a wealth preference in the laboratory. We find partial support for this prediction: wealth inequality widens when initial inequality is large, but not when it is small. This is because high-wealth participants tend to overconsume more than lower-wealth participants, partly offsetting the effect of the induced preference for wealth accumulation on the widening of wealth inequality. Activating participants’ status concerns by displaying their ranking in accumulated wealth has only a limited impact on the expansion of wealth inequality. |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1260rr |
| By: | Jieyi Duan; Nobuyuki Hanaki |
| Abstract: | This study experimentally investigates the impact of the lack of arbitrage opportunities across different assets on the realization of the law of one price. Our experiment is based on the framework established by Charness and Neugebauer (2019) where participants, acting as traders, are involved in transactions with two different types of assets. An increase in the magnitude of price discrepancies and fundamental mispricing are observed when traders are unable to engage in arbitrage between different assets. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpr:wpaper:1257r |
| By: | Rachel Glennerster (Center for Global Development); Joanna Murray (Development Media International); Victor Pouliquen (LEDa-DIAL, IRD, CNRS, Paris Dauphine University, PSL University, 75016 Paris) |
| Abstract: | This paper tests whether the arrival of mass media triggers a decline in fertility, a central prediction of modernization theory. Using a field experiment, we vary exposure to mass media and its content in a quarter of Burkina Faso. We provide radios to 1, 600 women without previous access to mass media. Half live in status quo areas and half in areas where the local radio station was randomly selected to air a science-based family planning campaign. Contrary to modernization theory and previous literature, gaining access to status quo mass media decreases contraception use by 14 percent and reinforces traditional gender norms. In contrast, receiving a radio in campaign areas boosts contraception use by 16 percent. The campaign also led to a 9 percent reduction in births and a 0.3 standard deviation increase in reported welfare. Reduced belief in misinformation rather than shifts in attitudes and preferences drives the result. |
| Keywords: | Mass media campaign, radio, modern contraception, family planning. |
| JEL: | L82 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt202602 |
| By: | Alabrese, Eleonora; Capozza, Francesco; Garg, Prashant |
| Abstract: | As social media becomes prominent within academia, we examine its reputational costs for academics. Analyzing Twitter posts from 98, 000 scientists (2016-22), we uncover substantial political expression. Online experiments with 4, 000 U.S. respondents and 135 journalists, rating synthetic academic profiles with different political affiliations, reveal that politically neutral scientists are seen as the most credible. Strikingly, political expressions result in monotonic penalties: Stronger posts more greatly reduce the perceived credibility of scientists and their research and audience engagement, particularly among oppositely aligned respondents. Two surveys with scientists highlight their awareness of penalties, their perceived benefits, and a consensus on limiting political expression outside their expertise. |
| Keywords: | Twitter, Scientists' Credibility, Polarization, Online Experiment |
| JEL: | C93 D72 D83 I23 Z10 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbiii:336443 |
| By: | Attanasi, Giuseppe; Chessa, Michela; Ciucani, Carlo (CNR) |
| Abstract: | This paper reports and discusses the findings of a lab in the field experiment on creativity with schoolchil- dren aged 7 to 11. More in detail, we find that in creative drawings with constraints, the tools made available (markers) have different impacts on creativity depending on gender. Moreover, other than such tools, the creativity expressed is explained by factors that differ between males and females. These find- ings contribute to the literature abound gender differences in creativity by finding a setting where kids perform differently depending on gender. Furthermore, our findings suggest practical implications for policies aimed at promoting creativity in education settings. |
| Date: | 2026–01–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:5ejdc_v1 |
| By: | Minou Goetze; Sebastian Clajus; Stephan Stricker |
| Abstract: | The present study investigates the psychological and behavioral implications of integrating AI into debt collection practices using data from eleven European countries. Drawing on a large-scale experimental design (n = 3514) comparing human versus AI-mediated communication, we examine effects on consumers' social preferences (fairness, trust, reciprocity, efficiency) and social emotions (stigma, empathy). Participants perceive human interactions as more fair and more likely to elicit reciprocity, while AI-mediated communication is viewed as more efficient; no differences emerge in trust. Human contact elicits greater empathy, but also stronger feelings of stigma. Exploratory analyses reveal notable variation between gender, age groups, and cultural contexts. In general, the findings suggest that AI-mediated communication can improve efficiency and reduce stigma without diminishing trust, but should be used carefully in situations that require high empathy or increased sensitivity to fairness. The study advances our understanding of how AI influences the psychological dynamics in sensitive financial interactions and informs the design of communication strategies that balance technological effectiveness with interpersonal awareness. |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.00050 |
| By: | Esther Bailey; Daniel Fehder; Eric Floyd; Yael Hochberg; Daniel J. Lee |
| Abstract: | We use a randomized experiment with 553 science- and technology-based startups in 12 co-working spaces across the US to evaluate the effects of intensive, short-term entrepreneurial training programs on survival and performance for innovation-driven startups. Treated startups are more likely to shut down their businesses and do so sooner than control startups. Conditional on survival, however, treated startups are more likely to raise external funding for their ventures, raise funding faster, and raise more funding than the control group; they also exhibit higher employment and revenue. Treated founders are less likely to found a new startup after shutdown. Our findings are consistent with practitioner arguments that early entrepreneurship training interventions can help entrepreneurs with less viable ventures “rationally quit” (“fail fast”). We use machine learning techniques (causal random forest) to provide exploratory insights on the most impacted subgroups. |
| JEL: | C93 D22 M13 M53 O32 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34755 |
| By: | Markhof, Yannick Valentin; Wollburg, Philip Randolph; Palacios-Lopez, Amparo; Castaing, Pauline; Sagesaka, Akiko; Contreras, Ivette |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a large-scale experiment in rural Nigeria to study the role of survey mode—in-person versus over the phone—in survey measurement and data quality. The experimental design isolates mode effects from other common sources of errors in surveys and covers 20 outcome measures across topics such as health, labor, shocks, wellbeing, and food security. The findings indicate consistent mode effects across outcomes, with phone responses differing from in-person responses by 17-18 percent at the median. These effects are large relative to other errors in phone surveys, such as under-coverage of households without phones. A within-respondent design enables capturing the full, respondent-level distribution of mode effects and finds them to vary much more than the averages reveal. Respondents with higher education levels are less prone to mode effects, whereas mode effects sharply increase in prevalence as respondents face more answer options. As the reliance on phone surveys in low- and middle-income countries grows, these findings indicate areas with large potential for data quality gains and have first-order implications for economic research in low- and middle-income countries. |
| Date: | 2026–02–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11302 |
| By: | Matej Lorko; Maros Servatka; Robert Slonim |
| Abstract: | Many charitable organizations invite potential donors to first join a registry before soliciting donations from those who have joined. Behavioral theories suggest that the choice architecture of registry enrollment can influence not just participation but also future giving. Some approaches may be relatively more likely to increase the likelihood of joining but reduce the subsequent propensity to donate and the amount donated, while other methods might have the opposite effect. We experimentally test four behavioral theories – overhead aversion, status quo bias, reciprocity, and moral consistency – in a two-stage donor engagement model. We find that (1) disclosing registry-related overhead costs decreases donations, (2) changing the default enrollment method (op-in vs. opt-out) does not affect enrollment nor donations, (3) targeting reciprocity by offering a small gift conditional on joining the registry boosts enrollment but not donations, and (4) targeting moral consistency by requesting an upfront contribution does not decrease the likelihood of joining the registry and improves charity returns. Our findings emphasize how subtle differences in early-stage donor approach design can influence longerterm fundraising outcomes. |
| Keywords: | charitable giving, donor registry, overhead aversion, status quo bias, reciprocity, moral consistency, experiment |
| Date: | 2025–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp809 |
| By: | Evgeny Kagan; Kyle Hyndman; Andrew Davis |
| Abstract: | We use a series of pre-registered, incentive-compatible online experiments to investigate how people evaluate and choose among different waiting time distributions. Our main findings are threefold. First, consistent with prior literature, people show an aversion to both longer expected waits and higher variance. Second, and more surprisingly, moment-based utility models fail to capture preferences when distributions have thick-right tails: indeed, decision-makers strongly prefer distributions with long-right tails (where probability mass is more evenly distributed over a larger support set) relative to tails that exhibit a spike near the maximum possible value, even when controlling for mean, variance, and higher moments. Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) utility models commonly used in portfolio theory predict these choices well. Third, when given a choice, decision-makers overwhelmingly seek information about right-tail outcomes. These results have practical implications for service operations: (1) service designs that create a spike in long waiting times (such as priority or dedicated queue designs) may be particularly aversive; (2) when informativeness is the goal, providers should prioritize sharing right-tail probabilities or percentiles; and (3) to increase service uptake, providers can strategically disclose (or withhold) distributional information depending on right-tail shape. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.06263 |
| By: | Listo, Ariel; Muñoz, Ercio; Sansone, Dario |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how attitudes among supervisors, co-workers, and customers contribute to discrimination against sexual minorities in the workplace. A large, nationally representative sample in Chile was recruited in collaboration with a local firm. The survey employs a series of double list experiments designed to measure attitudes on sensitive issues while reducing social desirability bias, followed by direct questions on attitudes toward sexual minorities. Findings reveal a discrepancy between reported and actual comfort levels with gay individuals in the labor market. Respondents underreported their discomfort by 15 to 23 percentage points, with the largest bias and lowest comfort levels observed when asked about supervising a gay employee. Additionally, respondents consistently underestimated broader societal support for gay employees and co-workers. These differences are reflected in real-stakes donation behavior: respondents who chose not to donate any amount from a lottery to a local LGBTQ-related NGO also reported lower comfort levels and exhibited greater misreporting. |
| Keywords: | LGBTQ+;discrimination |
| JEL: | C93 D91 J15 J71 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14488 |
| By: | Yechan Park; Xiaodong Yang |
| Abstract: | Applied work with interference typically models outcomes as functions of own treatment and a low-dimensional exposure mapping of others' treatments, even when that mapping may be misspecified. This raises a basic question: what policy object are exposure-based estimands implicitly targeting, and how should we interpret their direct and spillover components relative to the underlying policy question? We take as primitive the marginal policy effect, defined as the effect of a small change in the treatment probability under the actual experimental design, and show that any researcher-chosen exposure mapping induces a unique pseudo-true outcome model. This model is the best approximation to the underlying potential outcomes that depends only on the user-chosen exposure. Utilizing that representation, the marginal policy effect admits a canonical decomposition into exposure-based direct and spillover effects, and each component provides its optimal approximation to the corresponding oracle objects that would be available if interference were fully known. We then focus on a setting that nests important empirical and theoretical applications in which both local network spillovers and global spillovers, such as market equilibrium, operate. There, the marginal policy effect further decomposes asymptotically into direct, local, and global channels. An important implication is that many existing methods are more robust than previously understood once we reinterpret their targets as channel-specific components of this pseudo-true policy estimand. Simulations and a semi-synthetic experiment calibrated to a large cash-transfer experiment show that these components can be recovered in realistic experimental designs. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.12023 |
| By: | Bernardo Candia; James Mitchell; Damjan Pfajfar |
| Abstract: | We use a large-scale randomized controlled trial to study the causal effects of tariff beliefs on US consumers' macroeconomic expectations and spending plans. We find that it is important to distinguish between the first- and second-moment effects of tariff rate changes. Exogenous variation in tariff-level expectations and perceived future tariff uncertainty differentially affects consumers' expectations and perceived uncertainty about inflation, GDP growth, and unemployment. Furthermore, higher expectations of tariff rates induce an intertemporal substitution effect, increasing consumers' likelihood of buying durable goods. But higher tariff-rate uncertainty reduces consumers' readiness to spend on durable goods, consistent with precautionary saving motives. |
| Date: | 2026–02–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwq:102429 |
| By: | Azhan Ahmad (Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam Author-2-Name: Effie L-C. Law Author-2-Workplace-Name: Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective - An educator-oriented Serious Game (SG) authoring tool is designed to enable educators to create SGs without expertise in game development, using educator-friendly features such as a no-code programming approach. Methodology - The effectiveness of such a tool should be measured by its usability and by the effectiveness of the games it produces. We have developed the ARQS tool, which is suitable for educators, based on prior usability studies. Findings - In this paper, we present an experimental study comparing games designed by an educator and quiz applications. Novelty - Findings from the study showed that the games led to greater learning gains, motivation, emotional engagement, and learning experience, suggesting that educators can design effective SGs using our ARQS tool. Type of Paper - Empirical" |
| Keywords: | Serious Games; Educator; Experimental Study. |
| JEL: | C73 D83 |
| Date: | 2026–03–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jber268 |
| By: | Abaluck, Jason; Pless, Robert; Ravi, Nirmal; Sautmann, Anja; Schwartz, Aaron |
| Abstract: | This study tests the effects of large language model (LLM) decision support on patient care at two outpatient clinics in Nigeria. Health workers were given the option to make revisions to their initial care plan based on LLM feedback. The unassisted and assisted plans are evaluated using (1) comparisons with independent care plans created by on-site physicians, (2) laboratory tests for malaria, anemia, and urinary tract infections, and (3) a blinded randomized assessment by the on-site physician who saw the same patient. In response to LLM feedback, health workers changed their prescribing for more than half of the patients and reported high satisfaction with the recommendations. In a selected sample, retrospective review by academic physicians also suggested improvements in care related to long-term risk management. However, the three metrics show mixed effects of LLM-assistance, with on average no significant improvement in diagnostic alignment with physicians, detection rates for the tested conditions, or physician subjective assessments. Health workers follow LLM recommendations that agree with the physician's decisions only slightly more often than those that do not. These results suggest that, despite some benefits, LLM-based frontline health worker support is not yet a public health priority in low- and middle-income countries. |
| Date: | 2026–01–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11298 |
| By: | Charlotte De Sainte Maresville (UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud, UBS Vannes - Université de Bretagne Sud - Vannes - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud, LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]); Christine Petr (LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud, MARSOUIN - Môle Armoricain de Recherche sur la SOciété de l'information et des usages d'INternet - UR - Université de Rennes - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - Groupe ENSAE-ENSAI - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - UR2 - Université de Rennes 2 - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]); Felipe Restrepo |
| Abstract: | Virtual influencers, defined as computer-generated personas operated by creative teams, are reshaping influencer marketing, yet their reception compared to human influencers remains uncertain. While studies conducted in several countries suggest that novelty may stimulate engagement, evidence from the breton context, where authenticity and proximity are central evaluative criteria, remains limited. This exploratory study compares, over a 24month period, the performance of a virtual influencer and a human influencer with comparable audience size and thematic focus. Results show no statistically significant difference in engagement, including likes, comments and interaction rate. However, user interactions with the virtual influencer display slightly more polarized reactions, although negative comments remain extremely rare overall. These findings suggest that virtual influencers may integrate into the Breton digital landscape without clearly outperforming or underperforming human influencers. The study contributes to contextualizing virtual influencer effects in Europe and highlights the need for controlled experimental research to further examine the roles of authenticity and technological innovation. |
| Keywords: | Influencer marketing, Perception, Authenticity, Engagement, Human influencers, Virtual influencers, Virtual influencers Human influencers Engagement Authenticity Perception Influencer marketing |
| Date: | 2026–01–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05464776 |
| By: | Shuyao Wu; Delong Li; Zhonghao Zhang |
| Abstract: | Urban parks play a vital role in delivering various essential ecosystem services that significantly contribute to the well-being of urban populations. However, there is quite a limited understanding of how people value these ecosystem services differently. Here, we investigated the relationships among nine ecosystem service demands in urban parks across China using a large-scale survey with 20, 075 responses and a point-allotment experiment. We found particularly high preferences for air purification and recreation services at the expense of other services among urban residents in China. These preferences were further reflected in three distinct demand bundles: air purification-dominated, recreation-dominated, and balanced demands. Each bundle delineated a typical group of people with different representative characteristics. Socio-economic and environmental factors, such as environmental interest and vegetation coverage, were found to significantly influence the trade-off intensity among service demands. These results underscore the necessity for tailored urban park designs that address diverse service demands with the aim of enhancing the quality of urban life in China and beyond sustainably. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.11442 |