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on Experimental Economics |
| By: | Jasmin Vietz; Ingrid Hoem Sjursen |
| Abstract: | Non-state actors, such as religious institutions and leaders, play a central role in governance and social life in many low- and lower-middle-income countries. We examine whether information about how tax revenues are used for public goods and service provision increases voluntary tax compliance, and whether religious leaders can serve as more effective senders of this information than tax officials. Using a lab-in-the-field experiment in Tanzania, we find that providing information increases participants’ compliance, but only when delivered by a religious leader. These findings highlight the potential of religious leaders in enhancing tax compliance where trust in state institutions is limited. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ifowps:_415 |
| By: | Lergetporer, Philipp (Technical University of Munich); Rittmannsberger, Thomas (Technical University of Munich); Werner, Katharina (ifo Institute, University of Munich); Zeidler, Helen (Technical University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | We study anchoring effects in the elicitation of multidimensional beliefs within a single survey task using a representative sample of the German voting-age population. Respondents estimated government-spending levels across several domains (e.g., education, defense, social security), with randomized exposure to different informational anchors in one domain. Anchors significantly influence elicited beliefs in related domains and partially also shift respondents’ policy preferences. While the anchors change absolute estimates, perceived government-spending rankings remain stable. These findings offer methodological guidance for survey design involving multidimensional belief elicitation in information-provision experiments. |
| Keywords: | survey, beliefs, experiment, anchoring, government spending |
| JEL: | D83 C83 C90 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17931 |
| By: | Haeckl, Simone (University of Stavanger); Onozaka, Yuko (University of Stavanger) |
| Abstract: | This study examines gender differences in leadership behavior and effectiveness using a framed field experiment conducted in a large company. Leaders and followers in randomly assigned teams interacted in recorded online team meetings to discuss topics of strategic importance. Their behaviors were assessed through research assistant ratings and natural language processing, and effectiveness via external evaluations and follower surveys. We find that female leaders exhibited significantly more communal behaviors through elaboration on team members' ideas, frequent discussion contributions, and affirmative language than male leaders. However, these differences did not translate into superior team performance; male and female leaders showed com- parable effectiveness, particularly in external evaluations. Follower evaluations were more responsive to leader gender, with evidence of a communality bonus whereby male leaders received disproportionately positive evaluations for communal behaviors. Higher-level leaders achieved better team performance, regardless of gender. These findings suggest that leadership effectiveness is more strongly associated with developed expertise than with gender per se. Organizations may thus benefit from broadly developing leadership capabilities, alongside implementing evaluation systems that mitigate gender biases. |
| Keywords: | leadership; behavior; gender; RC |
| JEL: | C93 J16 J24 J28 |
| Date: | 2025–06–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:stavef:2025_001 |
| By: | Holden, Stein T. (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Tione, Sarah (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Tilahun, Mesfin (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); Katengeza, Samson (Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Multiple Price Lists (MPLs) or Choice Lists (CLs) are widely used to elicit risk and time preferences, yet are prone to cognitive biases, particularly among respondents with limited numeracy skills. This paper compares three elicitation approaches; row-by-row from the top, from the bottom, and a Rapid Elicitation (RE) method using random starting points; in a field experiment with 906 rural Malawian farmers. With 20 MPLs per subject, we estimate starting point and order biases in switch points using nonparametric and parametric methods. Row-by-row elicitation from the top or bottom introduces significant bias in preference elicitation, with effect sizes of up to 0.4 standard deviations. In contrast, the RE approach yields significantly lower starting point bias (Cohen’s d of 0.08 or less). Order effects were present but smaller in magnitude. RE also reduced cognitive load and shortened response time. These findings underscore the importance of the elicitation method in experimental design, particularly in low-literacy settings. The RE method offers a more reliable and scalable tool for eliciting behavioral preferences in development economics. |
| Keywords: | Multiple Price Lists; Elicitation method; Starting point bias; Order bias; Field experiment; Malawi |
| JEL: | C93 D81 D91 |
| Date: | 2025–06–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nlsclt:2025_003 |
| By: | Gerardo Sabater-Grande (LEE and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Maite Alguacil (IIE and Departament of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain); Noemí Herranz-Zarzoso (Department of Economic Analysis, Universitat de València, Spain) |
| Abstract: | We implemented a two-phase experiment to investigate economic dishonest behavior in the field. In the first phase, we conducted a laboratory experiment in which subjects completed four questionnaires in exchange for being rewarded with €10 via bank transfer. In the second phase, subjects were randomly assigned to three treatment groups. One-third of the subjects were intentionally underpaid by €5, another third was overpaid with an extra of €5 and the final third received an additional €15 beyond the stipulated reward. To assess subjects’ awareness of these payments, we emailed upon their receipt data of the bank transfer. We found that overpaid participants overwhelmingly underreported the discrepancy compared to those who were underpaid, revealing a strong dishonesty pattern. After controlling for potential covariates, including socio-economics demographics, self-reported personality traits, cognitive ability, and measures of altruism and trustworthiness revealed in experimental games, it was observed that participants who received a larger overpayment exhibited greater honesty compared to those who were overpaid in a lesser extent. This finding suggests that as the level of temptation increases, the psychological costs of being dishonest may outweigh its monetary benefits. |
| Keywords: | randomized field experiment; economic dishonesty; trustworthiness; altruism; cognitive ability, dark triad; HEXACO honesty-humility |
| JEL: | C93 D03 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2025/05 |
| By: | Echenique, Federico; Robinson‐Cortés, Alejandro; Yariv, Leeat |
| Abstract: | We present an experimental study of decentralized two‐sided matching markets with no transfers. Experimental participants are informed of everyone's preferences and can make arbitrary nonbinding match offers that get finalized when a period of market inactivity has elapsed. Several insights emerge. First, stable outcomes are prevalent. Second, while centralized clearinghouses commonly aim at implementing extremal stable matchings, our decentralized markets most frequently culminate in the median stable matching. Third, preferences' cardinal representations impact the stable partners with whom participants match. Last, the dynamics underlying our results exhibit strategic sophistication, with agents successfully avoiding cycles of blocking pairs. |
| Keywords: | Economics, Applied Economics, Economic Theory, Decentralized matching, experiments, market design, C78, C92, D47, Econometrics, Applied economics |
| Date: | 2025–01–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:econwp:qt14z7517n |
| By: | Katharina Hartinger (Johannes-Gutenberg University, Germany); Erik Sarrazin (Johannes-Gutenberg University, Germany); David J. Streich (Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt) |
| Abstract: | Digitalization in banking is leaving elderly clients at risk of losing access to financial services, but little is known about technology adoption at an advanced age. We develop and evaluate training interventions to foster internet banking adoption in a field experiment with more than 25, 000 elderly clients of a large German savings bank, of whom we randomize 333 into training. Our administrative banking panel data allows us to account for selection on observables and assess the sustainability of treatment effects. After the interventions, the share of clients who use internet banking increases by 26 percentage points in the treatment group relative to a matched control group. In terms of sustainable usage, the share of online transactions increases by 13 percentage points and remains elevated four months later. An extensive placebo analysis suggests that as much as 85% of the effect can be causally attributed to the training interventions. We find that training boosts non-technical adoption skills and reduces key adoption barriers. Treatment effects are larger for women and those not in charge of household finances. We further estimate intent-to-treat effects and predict dropout along the entire multi-stage adoption process to shed light on practical considerations when rolling out large-scale technology adoption interventions in this age group. Specifically, we show that the type of training (self-guided versus social learning) impacts dropout differentially despite similar treatment effects overall, with the social learning treatment being more inclusive. |
| Keywords: | technology adoption, internet banking, financial inclusion, digitalization, non-cognitive skills |
| JEL: | O33 G21 I21 J24 D12 D91 C93 |
| Date: | 2025–06–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2505 |
| By: | De Martini, Santiago; Gonzalez, Juan B.; Perez-Vincent, Santiago M. |
| Abstract: | Public urban transportation systems are essential for mitigating climate change, leading policymakers to intensify efforts to boost ridership. However, there is not much evidence showing up to what extent, in regions with high crime rates like Latin America, safety perception could limit these efforts. This paper studies the impact of crime and crime perception on public transport demand across six Latin American capitals. Using a sample of 5, 160 participants, we conduct three preregistered experiments to quantify the impact of crime on public transport choices and policy preferences. In the first experiment, we estimate the willingness to pay for safety by offering participants a choice between buses with varying crime rates and fares. We find that users place a substantial premium (51% of the current bus ticket) on safer transport options. The second experiment explores the substitution effect between private and public transport, revealing that higher crime rates diminish the likelihood of choosing public transport, even when offered at a reduced fare. The third experiment examines how crime perception influences public support for different transport policies. Our results show that a higher crime perception shifts support toward crime reduction initiatives at the expense of service efficiency and environmental policies. These results highlight the need for policies that integrate safety improvements to increase public transport ridership and contribute to climate change mitigation. |
| Keywords: | Public Transportation;Crime;environmental policy effectiveness;Experiments |
| JEL: | R41 R48 C91 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14139 |
| By: | Eleanor W. Dillon; Sonia Jaffe; Nicole Immorlica; Christopher T. Stanton |
| Abstract: | We present evidence on how generative AI changes the work patterns of knowledge workers using data from a 6-month-long, cross-industry, randomized field experiment. Half of the 7, 137 workers in the study received access to a generative AI tool integrated into the applications they already used for emails, document creation, and meetings. We find that access to the AI tool during the first year of its release primarily impacted behaviors that workers could change independently and not behaviors that require coordination to change: workers who used the tool in more than half of the sample weeks spent 3.6 fewer hours, or 31% less time on email each week (intent to treat estimate is 1.3 hours) and completed documents moderately faster, but did not significantly change time spent in meetings. |
| JEL: | L23 M1 M15 M5 O33 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33795 |
| By: | Ebun Akinsete (ICRE8); Alina Velias; Lydia Papadaki; Lazaros Antonios Chatzilazarou; Phoebe Koundouri |
| Abstract: | The increasing pressure on global water supplies from over-exploitation, drought, and pollution necessitates efficient and sustainable water management. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) strategies have shown effectiveness in decision support, but a deeper integration of economic and participative methodologies is needed. This research reviews the core characteristics and directions of experimental economics and Living Labs (LLs) and it aims to address three research questions, namely, how the participatory, real-world environment of living laboratories can be incorporated into the controlled, hypothesis-driven nature of experimental economics; what is the significance of behavioural insights that are derived from experimental economics in the design and implementation of living labs; and how these two approaches can be merged under one framework. The focus of this paper is the improvement of water resource management through collaborative and stakeholder-driven innovation. Living Labs provide authentic environments for co-creation, allowing scientists and stakeholders to address water-related issues like supply, demand, and shortage. These environments connect controlled experimental conditions with real applications, providing comprehensive insights into behavioural reactions and policy formulation. LLs can enhance and be strengthened by economic methodologies, particularly in water valuation through integrated frameworks accounting for environmental externalities and opportunity costs. Finally, this paper shows that integrating behavioural insights and experimental approaches within LLs improves the external validity of experimental economics by putting interventions in real-world settings. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral Microeconomics, Field Experiments, Water Resource Management; Water Supply and Demand, Analysis of Collective Decision-Making |
| Date: | 2025–06–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2540 |
| By: | Yong Suk Lee |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the racial implications of police interaction with algorithms, particularly in the context of racial disparities in rearrest predictions. Our experimental study involved showing police officers the profiles of young offenders and asking them to predict rearrest probabilities within three years, first without and then after seeing the algorithm’s assessment. The experiment varied the visibility of the offender’s race (revealed to one group, hidden in another group, and mixed (some shown and some hidden) in the other group). Additionally, we explored how informing officers about the model’s accuracy affected their responses. Our findings indicate that officers adjust their predictions towards the algorithm’s assessment when the race of the profile is disclosed. However, these adjustments exhibit significant racial disparities, with a significant gap in initial rearrest predictions between Black and White offenders even when all observable characteristics are controlled for. Furthermore, only Black officers significantly reduced their predictions after viewing the the algorithm’s assessments, while White officers did not. Our findings reveal the limited and nuanced effectiveness of algorithms in reducing bias in recidivism predictions, underscoring the complexities of algorithm-assisted human judgment in criminal justice. |
| Keywords: | human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence, algorithmic prediction, racial bias, criminal justice |
| JEL: | C10 D63 K40 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11877 |
| By: | Beat Hintermann; Beaumont Schoemann; Joseph Molloy; Thomas Götschi; Alberto Castro; Christopher Tchervenkov; Uros Tomic; Kay W. Axhausen |
| Abstract: | We implement Pigovian transport pricing in a field experiment in urban agglomerations of Switzerland over the course of 8 weeks. Our pricing considers the external costs from climate damages, health outcomes from pollution, accidents and physical activity, and congestion. It varies across time, space and mode of transport and is deducted from a budget provided to GPS-tracked participants. The treatment reduces the external costs of transport by 4.6% during the course of the experiment. The main underlying mechanism is a shift away from driving towards other modes, such as public transport, walking and cycling. Providing information about the external costs of transport alone is insufficient to change the transport behavior for the sample majority. We compute the welfare improvement due to mode shift to be 77 Swiss francs (or US dollars) per person and year, and that a fuel tax would achieve 70% of this gain. |
| Keywords: | transport pricing, Pigovian taxation, mobility, transportation, external costs, congestion, GPS-tracking |
| JEL: | H23 H31 I18 Q52 Q54 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11871 |
| By: | Lesman Ghazaryan; Corinne Faure; Joachim Schleich; Mia M. Birau (EM - EMLyon Business School) |
| Abstract: | Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) tariff schemes, in which households pay based on their waste generation, are proposed as solutions to the growing worldwide challenge of municipal solid waste management. However, public acceptance of such schemes remains low. Using a one-factor between-subject experimental survey design with 620 participants, we test the effects of environmental and accountability appeals and of individual characteristics in shaping preferences for a proposed PAYT scheme in Grenoble, France. We find a positive effect of the accountability appeal and no effect of the environmental appeal on preference for the PAYT scheme compared to a fixed-fee scheme. Additional analyses suggest that accountability appeals are particularly effective for individuals with below-median age, above-median income, and at least a master's degree, indicating that policymakers should target younger and educated citizens with these appeals in PAYT campaigns. Future research could test the applicability of these findings in other settings and for other waste-related interventions. |
| Keywords: | Pay-as-you-throw, Unit pricing of waste, Waste management, Communication strategies, Public acceptability, Survey experiment |
| Date: | 2025–06–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05083048 |
| By: | Anna Claudia Caspani (University of Insubria, Department of Economics, Via Monte Generoso, Varese, Italy.); Elena Maggi (University of Insubria, Department of Economics, Via Monte Generoso, Varese, Italy.); Jordi J. Teixidó (GiM-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.) |
| Abstract: | Private transport is a leading contributor to climate change and local pollution in many countries. As a result, commuting choices have become paramount. Our main research question is how gender affects these choices. This paper analyzes the gender heterogeneity of informational interventions (green nudges) on the willingness of car commuters to adopt more sustainable commuting habits. To isolate causal evidence, we conducted a survey experiment with a randomly assigned informational treatment – a visual representation of the carbon footprint associated with different commuting options – among students at a university in northern Italy. The results show that the nudge increased the participants’ willingness to forego their private car by 7-9%. Heterogeneous analyses reveal a novel gender-specific pattern in nudge effectiveness: female car commuters exhibit a consistently greater reluctance to forego private vehicles in response to the treatment compared to male car commuters. Potential mechanisms include differing mobility patterns, security concerns, and lower social desirability bias among women. In all cases, this gender discrepancy documents the importance of integrating a gender perspective in climate policy interventions to enhance both effectiveness and public support. |
| Keywords: | gender; local climate policy; commuting; green nudges; survey experiment; public support. JEL classification: D91, H23, M38, Q58. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:202412 |
| By: | Salazar, Lina; Bernal Hernandez, Sebastian; Miranda Baez, Luis Enrique |
| Abstract: | This study employs an experimental approach to estimate both the direct and indirect effects (i.e. spillovers) of an agricultural technology adoption program on small landholder farmers in Bolivia. Specifically, the evaluation focuses on the second phase of the "Creación de Iniciativas Agroalimentarias Rurales" (CRIAR) program, which aimed to increase agricultural productivity, income, and food security among smallholder farmers through technology adoption. Implementing a two-stage randomized experiment, the study uses instrumental variable (IV) analysis to measure the local average treatment effect (LATE) of the program. The survey sample includes 1, 684 farmers, consisting of direct beneficiaries, contaminated control households, and pure control households. Findings reveal statistically significant direct effects on household income, total production value, sales, technology adoption, and crop diversification. The results also suggest that most of the direct effects intensify over time. Furthermore, the analysis confirms the presence of spillover effects, supporting the hypothesis that farmers residing near program beneficiaries receive indirect benefits. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Technology;Technology adoption;Agricultural productivity;food security;Smallholder farmers;Bolivia |
| JEL: | O13 O33 Q12 Q16 Q18 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:14133 |
| By: | Nicola Garbarino; Sascha Möhrle; Florian Neumeier; Marie-Theres von Schickfus |
| Abstract: | Dealing with the consequences of climate change will put an increasing burden on public and private finances. We use the example of floods in a survey experiment among 8, 000 German households to elicit households’ preferences for climate adaptation policies. In Germany, as in many countries, we observe low flood insurance penetration in combination with high ex-post state aid in the event of large disasters. We find that prior expectations of flood aid, conditional on severe flooding, are low. After learning about high ex-post flood aid, households adjust their aid expectations upwards and increase their support for a mandatory flood insurance scheme. We show that the latter result is driven by fairness concerns, with reactions being stronger among uninsured households in low-risk areas. In contrast, information about announcements to cut flood aid does not significantly alter expectations and views. We conclude that fairness concerns are relevant in the discussion of public and private responsibilities in dealing with climate change. |
| Keywords: | climate change, public finance, mandatory insurance, political support, survey experiment |
| JEL: | G52 H23 H84 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11884 |
| By: | Guido Imbens; Chao Qin; Stefan Wager |
| Abstract: | When an experimenter has the option of running an adaptive trial, is it admissible to ignore this option and run a non-adaptive trial instead? We provide a negative answer to this question in the best-arm identification problem, where the experimenter aims to allocate measurement efforts judiciously to confidently deploy the most effective treatment arm. We find that, whenever there are at least three treatment arms, there exist simple adaptive designs that universally and strictly dominate non-adaptive completely randomized trials. This dominance is characterized by a notion called efficiency exponent, which quantifies a design's statistical efficiency when the experimental sample is large. Our analysis focuses on the class of batched arm elimination designs, which progressively eliminate underperforming arms at pre-specified batch intervals. We characterize simple sufficient conditions under which these designs universally and strictly dominate completely randomized trials. These results resolve the second open problem posed in Qin [2022]. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.05329 |
| By: | Undral Byambadalai; Tomu Hirata; Tatsushi Oka; Shota Yasui |
| Abstract: | This paper focuses on the estimation of distributional treatment effects in randomized experiments that use covariate-adaptive randomization (CAR). These include designs such as Efron's biased-coin design and stratified block randomization, where participants are first grouped into strata based on baseline covariates and assigned treatments within each stratum to ensure balance across groups. In practice, datasets often contain additional covariates beyond the strata indicators. We propose a flexible distribution regression framework that leverages off-the-shelf machine learning methods to incorporate these additional covariates, enhancing the precision of distributional treatment effect estimates. We establish the asymptotic distribution of the proposed estimator and introduce a valid inference procedure. Furthermore, we derive the semiparametric efficiency bound for distributional treatment effects under CAR and demonstrate that our regression-adjusted estimator attains this bound. Simulation studies and empirical analyses of microcredit programs highlight the practical advantages of our method. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.05945 |
| By: | Samuel Antill; Jessica Bai; Ashvin Gandhi; Adrienne Sabety |
| Abstract: | Healthcare firms are filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy at record rates. We find that bankruptcies increase healthcare staff turnover, worsen care, and harm patients. Using a difference-in- differences design, we estimate that a bankruptcy filing immediately increases staff turnover and worsens the firm’s performance on unannounced inspections. Next, using a patient- distance-to-facility instrument, we document that bankruptcies harm patients through increases in hospitalizations, physical restraints, and bedsores. Finally, we employ a randomized survey experiment of nursing home staff to confirm that bankruptcy filings increase voluntary departures and that replacement workers harm patients. |
| JEL: | I11 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33763 |
| By: | Zhou, Peng (Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University) |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a nonlinear teaching approach, based on learning theories in cognitive psychology, with a special focus on large-cohort economics modules. The fundamental rationale is to match the features of teaching with the nature of learning. This approach was implemented in an undergraduate economics module, which received qualitative feedback and quantitative evaluation. Formal econometric models with both binary and continuous treatment effects were developed and estimated to quantify the effects of the proposed approach. Evidence shows that the nonlinear teaching approach significantly improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the learning-teaching process but does not promote student attendance. |
| Keywords: | nonlinear teaching approach; higher education; experimental action research; treatment effects |
| JEL: | A22 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2025/11 |
| By: | Amnon Maltz; Moti Michaeli; Sapir Gavriel |
| Abstract: | We identify a “truncated U-shape†relationship between pro-social behavior and Covid-19 vaccination status. Non-vaxxers display the highest pro-sociality, partially vaccinated individuals the lowest, and fully vaccinated individuals lie in between. This pattern is interpreted as a reflection of the effect of personal convictions on vaccination decisions and pro-social behavior. Our key insights are incorporated in a model where the likelihood of actions aligning with preferences depends on the strength of convictions, which is heterogeneous across individuals. Our findings illuminate the complex interplay between preferences and actions in socially relevant contexts. |
| Keywords: | Altruism, Trust, Trustworthiness, Covid-19, Experiment, Convictions. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:730 |
| By: | Martin Elias De Simone; Federico Hernan Tiberti; Maria Rebeca Barron Rodriguez; Federico Alfredo Manolio; Wuraola Mosuro; Eliot Jolomi Dikoru |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the impact of a program leveraging large language models for virtual tutoring in secondary education in Nigeria. Using a randomized controlled trial, the program deployed Microsoft Copilot (powered by GPT-4) to support first-year senior secondary students in English language learning over six weeks. The intervention demonstrated a significant improvement of 0.31 standard deviation on an assessment that included English topics aligned with the Nigerian curriculum, knowledge of artificial intelligence and digital skills. The effect on English, the main outcome of interest, was of 0.23 standard deviations. Cost-effectiveness analysis revealed substantial learning gains, equating to 1.5 to 2 years of ’business-as-usual’ schooling, situating the intervention among some of the most cost-effective programs to improve learning outcomes. An analysis of heterogeneous effects shows that while the program benefits students across the baseline ability distribution, the largest effects are for female students, and those with higher initial academic performance. The findings highlight that artificial intelligence-powered tutoring, when designed and used properly, can have transformative impacts in the education sector in low-resource settings. |
| Date: | 2025–05–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11125 |
| By: | Chung, Colin |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how educational messaging and the timing of attitudinal questions influence stated consumer preferences for sustainable product components. A choice-based conjoint (CBC) survey was deployed to 720 U.S. adults, randomized into four groups with varying exposure to sustainability messaging and priming. Compared to the control group, respondents who were exposed to messaging and priming showed an additional 7–17 percentage point increase in preference share for products with recycled components. The attribute importance of sustainability-related features rose by approximately 4–7 percentage points, and marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) increased by $11–$71 relative to the control group. These results demonstrate how survey design can measurably impact research outcomes and the importance of educational messaging in improving willingness to pay. |
| Date: | 2025–05–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:t5fv4_v1 |
| By: | Kristy Buzard; Laura K. Gee; Olga B. Stoddard |
| Abstract: | Gender imbalance in time spent on child rearing causes gender inequalities in labor market outcomes, human capital accumulation, and economic mobility. We conduct a large-scale field experiment with a near-universe of US schools to investigate a potential source of inequality: external demands for parental involvement. Schools receive an email from a fictitious two-parent household and are asked to call one of the parents back. Mothers are 1.4 times more likely than fathers to be contacted. We decompose this inequality and demonstrate that the gender gap in external demands is associated with various measures of gender norms. We also show that signaling a father’s availability substantially changes the gender pattern of callbacks. Our findings underscore a process through which agents outside the household contribute to within-household gender inequalities. |
| JEL: | J01 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33775 |
| By: | Howai, Niko; Balcombe, Kelvin; Robinson, Elizabeth |
| Abstract: | Governments have long faced potential trade-offs between economic development and protecting nature. This is particularly true for tropical and sub-tropical islands where most mangroves are found. Motivated by Trinidad and Tobago’s central government’s prior hotel development plans, we employ a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to investigate residents’ preferences for mangrove ecosystem services (ES) in the Bon Accord Lagoon and Buccoo Bay, Tobago. Preferences were investigated in the context of a trade-off between conserving mangroves and promoting economic development through a hypothetical hotel project in the study area. We use a Hierarchical Bayesian Logit Model, exploring two distinct payment horizons, 5 and 25-years, undertaken independently and also merged in models that allow for choice certainty and individual characteristics. We find that respondents have consistent willingness-to-pay (WTP) for mangrove ES and exhibit general insensitivity to the payment horizons due to perceived disbenefits associated with mangrove loss from hotel development. The DCE and ex-post (follow-up) interviews suggest that there is strong public support for policies aimed at long-term protection of mangroves |
| Keywords: | discrete choice experiment; ecosystem services; payment horizons; choice certainty; ex-post interviews; Hierarchical Bayesian Logit; mangroves |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2025–05–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128167 |