nep-neu New Economics Papers
on Neuroeconomics
Issue of 2026–04–06
four papers chosen by
Daniel Houser, George Mason University
  1. Workers' Incentives and the Optimal Taxation of AI By Jakub Growiec; Klaus Prettner; Maciej Szkr\'obka
  2. Augmented Human Capital: A Unified Theory and LLM-Based Measurement Framework for Cognitive Factor Decomposition in AI-Augmented Economies By Cristian Espinal Maya
  3. Psychology of Debt in Rural South India By Arnaud Natal; Christophe Jalil Nordman
  4. Mental Models of Causal Structure in Economics and Psychology By Sandro Ambuehl; Rahul Bhui; Heidi C. Thysen
  1. By: Jakub Growiec; Klaus Prettner; Maciej Szkr\'obka
    Abstract: We characterize the optimal tax policy in an economy with human manual and cognitive labor, physical capital, and artificial intelligence (AI). Extending the dynamic taxation setup of Slavik and Yazici (2014), we find that it is optimal to start taxing AI when cognitive workers start to consider switching to manual jobs. This threshold may be crossed once AI becomes sufficiently capable in substituting humans across cognitive tasks.
    Date: 2026–03
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.17898
  2. By: Cristian Espinal Maya
    Abstract: This paper proposes a decomposition of human capital into three orthogonal components -- physical-manual (H^P), routine-cognitive (H^C), and augmentable-cognitive (H^A) -- and develops a production function in which AI capital interacts asymmetrically with these components: substituting for routine cognitive work while complementing augmentable cognitive work through an amplification function phi(D). I derive a corrected Mincerian wage equation and show that the standard specification is misspecified in AI-augmented economies. Using LLM-generated measures of occupational augmentability for 18, 796 O*NET task statements mapped to 440 Colombian occupations, merged with household survey microdata (N = 105, 517 workers), I estimate the augmented Mincer equation. The wage return to H^A increases with AI adoption in the formal sector (beta_2 = +0.051, p
    Date: 2026–04
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2604.01066
  3. 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 (IFP - Institut Français de Pondichéry - MEAE - Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, LEDA-DIAL - Développement, Institutions et Modialisation - 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)
    Abstract: This study is the first attempt to examine the extent to which the Big Five personality traits and cognitive skills (Raven scores, numeracy, and literacy scores) are correlated with debt negotiation and debt management in a Global South country; and how social identity – in particular caste and gender – channels the effect of cognition on debt outcomes. Using a panel dataset built from an original household survey (called NEEMSIS) conducted in 2016–2017 and 2020–2021 in rural Tamil Nadu, India, and employing multivariate correlation probit analysis with lagged variables, we find the following. Firstly, conscientiousness is an advantage in the negotiation and management of debt, particularly for non-Dalit women, suggesting that, in a rural patriarchal context, women leverage personality traits to overcome the constraints of social identity. Secondly, emotional stability is a disadvantage in both debt negotiation and management. Thirdly, the role of cognition and in particular the Raven score is ambiguous.
    Keywords: Five, personality traits, cognitive skills, gender, caste, social identity
    Date: 2025–02–02
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04962956
  4. By: Sandro Ambuehl; Rahul Bhui; Heidi C. Thysen
    Abstract: A rapidly growing literature in economics studies how people form beliefs about the causal structures that link economic variables, and what happens when those beliefs are mistaken. We survey this literature and connect it to a large body of related research in cognitive science. After providing an accessible introduction to causal Directed Acyclic Graphs, the dominant modeling approach, we review theory and evidence addressing three nested questions: how individuals reason within known structures, how they estimate their parameters, and how they learn causal structures. We then discuss methodological challenges and describe applications in microeconomics, macroeconomics, political economy, and business.
    Date: 2026–03
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.29070
This nep-neu issue is ©2026 by Daniel Houser. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at https://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the Griffith Business School of Griffith University in Australia.
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2026‒04‒07 at 14:43.