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on Neuroeconomics |
| By: | de Silva, Lihini (Monash University Australia); Mahmood, Rafat (Monash University); Ponnusamy, Sundar (Deakin University Australia) |
| Abstract: | Agricultural residue burning releases pollutants that prevailing winds carry across administrative boundaries. We study the effects of fire-driven pollution on the cognitive development and educational trajectories of around 700, 000 children aged 5--16 in Pakistan, combining satellite-derived burned area data, wind direction, and nationally representative learning assessments. Our treatment measure captures fires within 15 kilometers of a child's district that burn upwind; comparable downwind fires, which reflect the same agricultural activity but carry smoke away from the child, serve as a placebo. A one standard deviation increase in upwind fire exposure reduces test scores in mathematics, reading, and English by roughly 0.02 standard deviations; downwind fires have no effect. Impacts are concentrated in the school term, with no effect from summer-holiday fires. Boys and girls suffer similar cognitive losses, but over time older girls face higher dropout, consistent with lower perceived returns to female education in a patrilocal society, and child labor rises. The results survive extensive robustness checks. Agricultural burning is thus a constraint on human capital development, not only a public health issue. |
| Keywords: | agricultural fires, air pollution, cognitive development, child labor |
| JEL: | Q53 Q54 I25 J13 O12 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18977 |
| By: | Habtamu Beshir (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies); Emla Fitzsimons (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies); Dominic Kelly (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies); Lindsey Macmillan (UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities) |
| Abstract: | We examine how different dimensions of adolescent development---cognitive skills, socio-emotional functioning, and mental health---are associated with educational attainment and labour-market engagement at age 23. Using the Millennium Cohort Study, we show that these dimensions are linked to distinct outcomes in early adulthood. Attention difficulties are most strongly associated with lower educational attainment, while emotional, conduct, and peer difficulties are more closely related to weaker labour-market engagement and a higher likelihood of being not in education, employment, or training (NEET). Persistent behavioural and mental-health difficulties are particularly predictive of NEET status. We further document substantial socioeconomic inequalities in educational attainment and labour-market engagement and assess the extent to which adolescent skills and mental health account for these disparities. Our findings show that different dimensions of adolescent development are associated with distinct pathways through education and into the labour market, while also contributing to persistent socioeconomic inequalities in early-adult outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Adolescent skills; mental health; educational attainment; NEET; labour-market outcomes. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2026–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucl:cepeow:26-09 |
| By: | Arnaud Natal (IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry - MEAE - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, BSE - Bordeaux Sciences Economiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UB - Université de Bordeaux); Christophe Jalil Nordman (LEDA-DIAL - Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation - LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IRD [Ile-de-France] - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry - MEAE - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of personality traits-specifically the Big Five and locus of control-in shaping economic outcomes in countries of the Global South. While such traits have been extensively studied in OECD contexts, they remain underexplored in Global South settings where most of the world's population resides. The article reviews how personality traits are measured in diverse cultural contexts, their associations with economic outcomes, and the structural and individual-level factors that shape them. It also evaluates evidence on the effectiveness of interventions aimed at altering personality traits. Findings suggest that traits like conscientiousness, emotional stability, and an internal locus of control are positively linked to improved economic performance and adaptive behaviours, and that these traits are malleable to varying degrees. The paper concludes by highlighting policy implications and research priorities, including the need for longitudinal studies, culturally valid measurement tools, and integrated development strategies that address both psychological and structural determinants of well-being. |
| Keywords: | Programmes, Labour market, Human capital, Personality traits |
| Date: | 2027–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05574564 |
| By: | Xin Jiang (University of Southern California); Bohan Ye (Department of Economics, University of California Riverside) |
| Abstract: | Timestamps that reveal response times (RTs) have become a common feature of contemporary social media platforms and messaging applications. What information does RT reveal when users have conflicting interests, and can they use this information to improve communication outcomes? We conduct a sender–receiver experiment to examine the relationship between RT and message honesty. We find that longer RTs are associated with a higher likelihood of deception, consistent with a cognitive-conflict mechanism under which lying involves greater cognitive struggle. Receivers, however, rely more consistently on senders’ message frequency than on RT when assessing message credibility. |
| Keywords: | lie detection; response time; information acquisition; cognitive conflict |
| JEL: | C92 D01 D91 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucr:wpaper:202608 |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio; Raquel Bernal; Michele Giannola; Milagros Nores |
| Abstract: | Using child development data collected during the evaluation of an early childhood education program, this paper estimates a dynamic model of human development from ages 1 to 6. We model three latent factors—health, cognitive skills, and socio-emotional skills—and allow them to interact with each other and with multiple inputs to shape subsequent development. The richness and high-frequency nature of the data permit a flexible specification that (i) allows for complex dynamics, (ii) lets each factor con- tribute to the production of the others, (iii) permits age-varying production technologies, and (iv) treats parental investment as endogenous. We use the estimated model to identify “windows of opportunity” in which parental interventions, or programs that increase investment, are especially effective. Results indicate that developmental dynamics are richer than typically assumed, with important implications for persistence: the impact of inputs can decay or endure in ways that vary across domains and over age. Accounting for endogenous investment is consequential for inference. |
| JEL: | I15 I25 I32 J13 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35818 |
| By: | Obschonka, Martin (Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam); Grillitsch, Markus (CIRCLE, Lund University); Guldåker, Nicklas (CIRCLE, Lund University); Rauhut, Daniel (CIRCLE, Lund University); Rentfrow, Peter Jason (Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge); Potter, Jeff (Atof Inc., Cambridge); Gosling, Samuel D. (Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin; School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | Personality traits (e.g., the Big Five) shape human behavior, decision-making, and life outcomes. Evidence from various countries suggests that these traits are not randomly distributed but follow systematic regional patterns, fueling interest in their geographical variation. Prior research shows that regional personality compositions can influence—and be influenced by—regional socio-economic development. Here, we present an initial personality map of Sweden based on N = 22, 225 geo-coded personality assessments at the municipal level. In contrast to Sweden's reputation for equality, our analysis reveals notable regional contrasts in personality composition. The data show geographical patterns in adaptive traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability [low Neuroticism]), known predictors of better psychological functioning. Sweden's rust belt exhibits notably lower levels of these traits, while the southernmost region (mainly Scania) shows higher levels. These patterns align with ongoing discussions on regional socio-economic polarization in Sweden and may reflect a macro-psychological imprint of these processes. We therefore propose a future research agenda to examine the causes and consequences of these regional personality variations, while considering potential policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Personality; Regions; Sweden; Culture; Economic history; Geography |
| JEL: | N94 R11 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2025_006 |
| By: | Anjali Adukia; Matthew Bonci; Paula Dastres Gallardo; Emileigh Harrison; Jake Nicoll; Teodora Szasz |
| Abstract: | Emotional intelligence constitutes a key component of human capital, shaped partially by educational materials. Using machine learning and generative AI tools, we examine emotional content in public-school textbooks and children’s literature. A stark mismatch emerges: text exposes children to a broad emotional range, but images overwhelmingly depict happiness and calm, regardless of emotions described in text on the same page. Nearly half of pages show zero overlap between the emotions described in text and those shown in images. This pattern persists across time, contexts, and identities. Household purchases and library inventories suggest content may be endogenously shaped by consumer demand favoring “positive” cover imagery, implying market forces narrow the emotional landscape children encounter. |
| JEL: | I20 I21 I24 L82 Z11 Z13 |
| Date: | 2026–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35789 |