nep-neu New Economics Papers
on Neuroeconomics
Issue of 2025–11–03
four papers chosen by
Daniel Houser, George Mason University


  1. Uncertainty-Awareness in AI-Augmented Decision-Making: Explaining Appropriate Reliance through Cognitive Mechanisms By Jaki, Paula; Jussupow, Ekaterina; Benlian, Alexander
  2. Failures of Contingent Thinking and the Winner’s Curse By Philippos Louis
  3. Beyond Education and Occupation: Unpacking the Large Gender Wage Gap in Kenya By Uyanga Byambaa; Edward Miguel; Michael W. Walker; Samuel Zicheng Wang
  4. Unequal Expression: Social Position, APOE Genotype and Risk of Dementia By Aravena, José M.; Chen, Xi; Levy, Becca R.

  1. By: Jaki, Paula; Jussupow, Ekaterina; Benlian, Alexander
    Date: 2025
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:157775
  2. By: Philippos Louis
    Keywords: I design a within-subject experiment to investigate why individuals fall victim to the winner’s curse. A known explanation is a failure of contingent thinking (FCT). My design disentangles the effects of pure FCT from cursedness—the failure to recognize the correlation between others’ information and actions. Results show that many participants exhibit FCT without being cursed, while a similar fraction display cursed reasoning. Only a minority avoid both errors. By estimating structural models of cognitive reasoning, including one of pure FCT, I provide further support for these findings, clarifying distinct cognitive mechanisms underlying suboptimal behavior.
    JEL: C91 D91
    Date: 2025–10–25
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:03-2025
  3. By: Uyanga Byambaa; Edward Miguel; Michael W. Walker; Samuel Zicheng Wang
    Abstract: Gender wage gaps persist globally, particularly in poor countries. Using Kenya Life Panel Survey data, we first document a raw gender wage gap of 79 log points (55%). We show it remains large, at 39 log points (32%), even controlling for a novel set of individual characteristics – cognitive performance, personality traits, economic preferences, and job tasks – in addition to standard covariates. These novel factors account for only 20% of the residual gap unexplained by education and occupation. Though most Kenyans report egalitarian gender views, these patterns suggest that barriers still hinder women’s labor outcomes.
    JEL: J16 O12
    Date: 2025–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:34375
  4. By: Aravena, José M. (Yale University); Chen, Xi (Yale University); Levy, Becca R. (Yale University)
    Abstract: The influence of genetic risk on dementia can be shaped by social environments. Following older adults without dementia at baseline for 12 years in two large cohorts—Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we examine how APOE alleles interact with social adversity to determine dementia risk. A social adversity index is constructed based on five domains of social determinants of health outlined in the Healthy People 2030: education access, economic stability, healthcare quality, neighborhood environment, and social context. Participants are classified as having low (APOE-?2), intermediate (APOE-?3/?3), or high (APOE-?4) genetic risk of dementia. Dementia is ascertained via clinical diagnosis, cognitive testing, or validated caregiver report. Genetic effects are most pronounced among individuals with social advantage. In contrast, those experiencing high social adversity have elevated dementia risk regardless of genotype. Notably, individuals with high genetic risk but social advantage have lower dementia risks than those with low genetic risk but high social adversity. Addressing social adversity may reduce dementia risk across genotypes and enhance equity in dementia prevention.
    Keywords: dementia, genotype, genetic risk, social advantage, social adversity, United States, United Kingdom
    JEL: I14 I24 I10 J14 J15 H75
    Date: 2025–10
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18223

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