#experimentalecon — Public Fediverse posts

Discrimination Preferences https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26125&r=&r=exp
"… #moral preferences are highly heterogeneous and the moral #discrimination preferences we introduce are widespread. We identify minorities of individuals with tastes for.…and large majorities with preferences against taste discrimination
… substantial shares with merit-based preferences for statistical discrimination…as well as against statistical discrimination
… discrimination is sensitive to profitability, but only 21% of individuals are pure profit maximizers on average, and moral preferences remain highly relevant. When taste discrimination becomes profitable, a sizable minority is swayed to engage in it… but 75% forgo earnings by refusing to engage in it. When instead it becomes profitable to engage in statistical discrimination, most are enticed to engage in it… Nevertheless, 32% forgo earnings by refusing to engage in statistical discrimination. The bulk of statistical discrimination with monetary incentives here stems from merit concerns rather than profit maximization. This is because about half of individuals statistically discriminate on #merit grounds even without monetary incentives to do so
.… while merit may justify rejecting taste discrimination of groups with equal merit, it also justifies statistical discrimination under incomplete information"
#ExperimentalEcon

Discrimination Preferences https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:26125&r=&r=exp
"… #moral preferences are highly heterogeneous and the moral #discrimination preferences we introduce are widespread. We identify minorities of individuals with tastes for.…and large majorities with preferences against taste discrimination
… substantial shares with merit-based preferences for statistical discrimination…as well as against statistical discrimination
… discrimination is sensitive to profitability, but only 21% of individuals are pure profit maximizers on average, and moral preferences remain highly relevant. When taste discrimination becomes profitable, a sizable minority is swayed to engage in it… but 75% forgo earnings by refusing to engage in it. When instead it becomes profitable to engage in statistical discrimination, most are enticed to engage in it… Nevertheless, 32% forgo earnings by refusing to engage in statistical discrimination. The bulk of statistical discrimination with monetary incentives here stems from merit concerns rather than profit maximization. This is because about half of individuals statistically discriminate on #merit grounds even without monetary incentives to do so
.… while merit may justify rejecting taste discrimination of groups with equal merit, it also justifies statistical discrimination under incomplete information"
#ExperimentalEcon

Firm Pay, Amenities, and Inequality https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35149&r=&r=bec
"Non-wage attributes are an important driver of job choice: workers frequently choose lowerpaying offers. Amenity valuations are highly dispersed across firms and approximately orthogonal to wages, so amenities do not offset between-firm pay differences. In money-metric units, the signal variance of amenities is about one-third that of wage premia. Conditional on the wage, high-amenity firms tend to be larger, have lower quit rates, and are more favorably reviewed by employees. Amenity preferences vary across demographic groups. Men and women do not value the same firms equally: the correlation between their firm-specific valuations is 0.239. Women work at firms that pay less. They also work at firms that offer them higher amenity value. Using gender-specific valuations, women do not work at firms that offer them lower overall value. In some specifications, they work at firms that offer more."
#LaborMarkets #wages #ExperimentalEcon #gpg

Firm Pay, Amenities, and Inequality https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:35149&r=&r=bec
"Non-wage attributes are an important driver of job choice: workers frequently choose lowerpaying offers. Amenity valuations are highly dispersed across firms and approximately orthogonal to wages, so amenities do not offset between-firm pay differences. In money-metric units, the signal variance of amenities is about one-third that of wage premia. Conditional on the wage, high-amenity firms tend to be larger, have lower quit rates, and are more favorably reviewed by employees. Amenity preferences vary across demographic groups. Men and women do not value the same firms equally: the correlation between their firm-specific valuations is 0.239. Women work at firms that pay less. They also work at firms that offer them higher amenity value. Using gender-specific valuations, women do not work at firms that offer them lower overall value. In some specifications, they work at firms that offer more."
#LaborMarkets #wages #ExperimentalEcon #gpg

Choice Architecture in Occupational Choices
http://repec.business.uzh.ch/RePEc/iso/leadinghouse/0255_lhwpaper.pdf
This study uses a Swiss job board to analyze how rank order and design influence high-stakes occupational choices. Higher rankings increased applications, especially for high-paying and gender-congruent occupations. Users interpreted rank to justify choices aligning with identity, providing field evidence for motivated reasoning. An interactive, visually enriched interface redesign boosted applications and watch list usage. Results show that reducing cognitive load expands the variety of options individuals consider and remember.
#choicearchitecture #motivatedreasoning #laborEconomics #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon
#BoundedRationality

Choice Architecture in Occupational Choices
http://repec.business.uzh.ch/RePEc/iso/leadinghouse/0255_lhwpaper.pdf
This study uses a Swiss job board to analyze how rank order and design influence high-stakes occupational choices. Higher rankings increased applications, especially for high-paying and gender-congruent occupations. Users interpreted rank to justify choices aligning with identity, providing field evidence for motivated reasoning. An interactive, visually enriched interface redesign boosted applications and watch list usage. Results show that reducing cognitive load expands the variety of options individuals consider and remember.
#choicearchitecture #motivatedreasoning #laborEconomics #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon
#BoundedRationality

Human–AI Evaluation and Gender Transparency: Application Decisions in Competitive Hiring
https://docs.iza.org/dp18517.pdf
#AI involvement deters applicants, particularly women, across both pure algorithmic and hybrid human-in-the-loop regimes. This effect is driven by non-competitive candidates; non-competitive women apply least despite receiving the strongest objective evaluations under AI assessment. Competitive men exhibit #overconfidence -driven selection, while competitive women remain resilient and well-calibrated under AI assessment. Notably, randomizing candidate #gender disclosure does not significantly impact application behavior in any evaluation category.
#hiring #llms #algorithmaversion #LaborMarkets #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon

Human–AI Evaluation and Gender Transparency: Application Decisions in Competitive Hiring
https://docs.iza.org/dp18517.pdf
#AI involvement deters applicants, particularly women, across both pure algorithmic and hybrid human-in-the-loop regimes. This effect is driven by non-competitive candidates; non-competitive women apply least despite receiving the strongest objective evaluations under AI assessment. Competitive men exhibit #overconfidence -driven selection, while competitive women remain resilient and well-calibrated under AI assessment. Notably, randomizing candidate #gender disclosure does not significantly impact application behavior in any evaluation category.
#hiring #llms #algorithmaversion #LaborMarkets #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon

A Job I Like or a Job I Can Get: Designing Job #RecommenderSystems Using Field Experiments https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.21699&r=&r=exp
"… welfare-optimal RSs rank vacancies by an expected-surplus index, and shows why rankings based solely on utility, #hiring probabilities, or observed application behavior are generically suboptimal
… Algorithms informed by the model-implied optimal ranking substantially outperform existing approaches and perform close to the welfare-optimal benchmark.

While the joint application-and-hiring probability is not welfare-optimal in theory, it emerges as a strong empirical benchmark in our setting. This result is structural rather than algorithmic: application probabilities are empirically small and remain so even under recommendation rules designed to stimulate applications
… rankings based solely on application behavior are theoretically fragile
… Machine-learning tools can substantially improve matching outcomes, but only when embedded in a framework that defines the economic objective and disciplines behavioral assumptions with experimental evidence. Without such a framework, RSs optimized for observable behaviors may perform well on predictive metrics yet remain misaligned with welfare-relevant outcomes."
#LaborMarkets #jobtech #socialWelfare #ExperimentalEcon

A Job I Like or a Job I Can Get: Designing Job #RecommenderSystems Using Field Experiments https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2603.21699&r=&r=exp
"… welfare-optimal RSs rank vacancies by an expected-surplus index, and shows why rankings based solely on utility, #hiring probabilities, or observed application behavior are generically suboptimal
… Algorithms informed by the model-implied optimal ranking substantially outperform existing approaches and perform close to the welfare-optimal benchmark.

While the joint application-and-hiring probability is not welfare-optimal in theory, it emerges as a strong empirical benchmark in our setting. This result is structural rather than algorithmic: application probabilities are empirically small and remain so even under recommendation rules designed to stimulate applications
… rankings based solely on application behavior are theoretically fragile
… Machine-learning tools can substantially improve matching outcomes, but only when embedded in a framework that defines the economic objective and disciplines behavioral assumptions with experimental evidence. Without such a framework, RSs optimized for observable behaviors may perform well on predictive metrics yet remain misaligned with welfare-relevant outcomes."
#LaborMarkets #jobtech #socialWelfare #ExperimentalEcon

Everyone Take Copies https://www.econlib.org/econlog/everyone-take-copies/
"… discs: Non-rivalrous goods are goods that can be used by multiple people without any loss to the other users. If participants exercise the ability to take a disc, then the original disc holder still has a disc and can still consume the full value of it.
… Participants discuss discs often enough to reveal how they conceptualize the resource. In many instances, they articulate the positive-sum logic of zero-marginal-cost copying. For example, … farmer Almond reasons, “ok so disks cant be stolen so everyone take copies,” explicitly rejecting the application of “stolen” to discs.
… Humans can state that digital piracy is illegal and take measures to prevent it. However, it will be difficult to cause an individual engaging in piracy to feel guilty as they do when they believe they are directly harming another human."
#economics #IntellectualProperty #ExperimentalEcon #ExperimentalLaw

Everyone Take Copies https://www.econlib.org/econlog/everyone-take-copies/
"… discs: Non-rivalrous goods are goods that can be used by multiple people without any loss to the other users. If participants exercise the ability to take a disc, then the original disc holder still has a disc and can still consume the full value of it.
… Participants discuss discs often enough to reveal how they conceptualize the resource. In many instances, they articulate the positive-sum logic of zero-marginal-cost copying. For example, … farmer Almond reasons, “ok so disks cant be stolen so everyone take copies,” explicitly rejecting the application of “stolen” to discs.
… Humans can state that digital piracy is illegal and take measures to prevent it. However, it will be difficult to cause an individual engaging in piracy to feel guilty as they do when they believe they are directly harming another human."
#economics #IntellectualProperty #ExperimentalEcon #ExperimentalLaw

Delegating in the Age of AI: Preferences for Decision Autonomy https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:558&r=&r=eur
"… participants systematically underutilize both #AI and human agents, even when those agents outperform them. Despite a general hesitancy to delegate, we observe a clear preference for delegating to AI rather than human agents, a behavioral pattern that remains consistent across both decision domains and architectures
… suggesting that algorithm aversion stems primarily from a broader aversion to relinquishing control rather than from specific distrust towards AI
… If individuals are driven primarily by general reluctance to relinquish control rather than specific distrust in AI, then #transparency alone, focused narrowly on increasing #trust in AI, will likely fall short of overcoming this barrier."
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality

Delegating in the Age of AI: Preferences for Decision Autonomy https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:558&r=&r=eur
"… participants systematically underutilize both #AI and human agents, even when those agents outperform them. Despite a general hesitancy to delegate, we observe a clear preference for delegating to AI rather than human agents, a behavioral pattern that remains consistent across both decision domains and architectures
… suggesting that algorithm aversion stems primarily from a broader aversion to relinquishing control rather than from specific distrust towards AI
… If individuals are driven primarily by general reluctance to relinquish control rather than specific distrust in AI, then #transparency alone, focused narrowly on increasing #trust in AI, will likely fall short of overcoming this barrier."
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality

How do monetary incentives affect the measurement of social preferences? https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:482&r=&r=exp
"… the use of monetary #incentives, as well as the size of the stakes, have little impact on choices at the descriptive levels, as well as for the identification of qualitatively distinct preferences types. They appear to matter, however, for the quantitative identification of the strength and the precision of social preferences.
… the #socialPreferences of the general population are likely overestimated when elicited with hypothetical stakes. If one is solely interested in having a rough, descriptive measure of social preferences at the aggregate level, or if one wants to identify qualitatively distinct preferences types, then relying on hypothetical stakes might suffice.
… if one is interested in making a quantitative assessment of subjects’ other-regardingness, e.g., in order to make quantitative predictions, then our result suggest that using monetary incentives is advisable,
… no evidence that using a larger stake size improves the identification of social preferences"
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

How do monetary incentives affect the measurement of social preferences? https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:482&r=&r=exp
"… the use of monetary #incentives, as well as the size of the stakes, have little impact on choices at the descriptive levels, as well as for the identification of qualitatively distinct preferences types. They appear to matter, however, for the quantitative identification of the strength and the precision of social preferences.
… the #socialPreferences of the general population are likely overestimated when elicited with hypothetical stakes. If one is solely interested in having a rough, descriptive measure of social preferences at the aggregate level, or if one wants to identify qualitatively distinct preferences types, then relying on hypothetical stakes might suffice.
… if one is interested in making a quantitative assessment of subjects’ other-regardingness, e.g., in order to make quantitative predictions, then our result suggest that using monetary incentives is advisable,
… no evidence that using a larger stake size improves the identification of social preferences"
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

Social Risk, Fairness Types, and Redistribution https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12128&r=&r=cbe
"…find individuals exhibit significantly less tolerance for #inequality stemming from social risk — where outcomes depend on another person’s choice to reciprocate or betray — than from natural risk — where outcomes depend on brute #luck. This aversion to inequality born of social interdependence is driven by a greater likelihood of redistribution, rather than more intensive transfers.
… identify a novel #fairness type, which we term Insurer, who consistently compensate individuals who take risks but incur losses. This type is especially prevalent when outcomes hinge on others’ choices, suggesting that the interpersonal nature of risk shapes moral reasoning about fairness.

The heightened preference for #redistribution in trust-based environments points to public demand for social #insurance mechanisms that address harms arising from social, as opposed to purely idiosyncratic or market-based, risks."
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

Social Risk, Fairness Types, and Redistribution https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12128&r=&r=cbe
"…find individuals exhibit significantly less tolerance for #inequality stemming from social risk — where outcomes depend on another person’s choice to reciprocate or betray — than from natural risk — where outcomes depend on brute #luck. This aversion to inequality born of social interdependence is driven by a greater likelihood of redistribution, rather than more intensive transfers.
… identify a novel #fairness type, which we term Insurer, who consistently compensate individuals who take risks but incur losses. This type is especially prevalent when outcomes hinge on others’ choices, suggesting that the interpersonal nature of risk shapes moral reasoning about fairness.

The heightened preference for #redistribution in trust-based environments points to public demand for social #insurance mechanisms that address harms arising from social, as opposed to purely idiosyncratic or market-based, risks."
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

Against the Standard https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/36879/8/Cubel_Against_dp764_2025.pdf
"… in the absence of feedback, women are less likely than men to benchmark their performance against a standard of excellence. This is inefficient because women who are likely to obtain increased rewards choose a low reward scheme instead.
… When feedback is provided and the standard is set by peers, this gender gap closes. However, the gap re-emerges, and even widens, when the standard of excellence is set by experts.
… If standards are set by experts and committees are perceived as male-dominated, a gender gap will exist in the award of promotions, grants or recognition. Understanding the differential impact of standards and feedback provision can help to design more inclusive competitive processes and bridge gender gaps in labour market outcomes."
#ExperimentalEcon #LaborEconomics #wages #gpg #LaborMarkets

Against the Standard https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/36879/8/Cubel_Against_dp764_2025.pdf
"… in the absence of feedback, women are less likely than men to benchmark their performance against a standard of excellence. This is inefficient because women who are likely to obtain increased rewards choose a low reward scheme instead.
… When feedback is provided and the standard is set by peers, this gender gap closes. However, the gap re-emerges, and even widens, when the standard of excellence is set by experts.
… If standards are set by experts and committees are perceived as male-dominated, a gender gap will exist in the award of promotions, grants or recognition. Understanding the differential impact of standards and feedback provision can help to design more inclusive competitive processes and bridge gender gaps in labour market outcomes."
#ExperimentalEcon #LaborEconomics #wages #gpg #LaborMarkets

Artificial intelligence, distributional #fairness, and pivotality https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05165240&r=&r=ain
"#AI training introduces a significant shift – individual decisions no longer terminate with the present but… influence the future behavior of scalable algorithms. This amplifies the impact of individual actions, creating lasting #externalities. Yet, the aggregation of data from many individuals may lead to diffused #responsibility, weakening the sense of pivotality. … leading to less prosocial behavior compared to a situation with high perceived pivotality for algorithmic outcomes.
… removing pivotality led to increased #selfishness in how humans trained the algorithm. Importantly, this change in revealed #socialPreferences was driven by a shift in individual responsibility (the power over one’s own or others’ fate) rather than the incentive structures (the expected additional payoff of one’s current decisions through the AI’s training).
… findings reveal a positive correlation between participants’ beliefs about others’ revealed preferences in generating training data and their own AI training choices when they were pivotal for others’ payoffs. This pattern points to a potential #falseConsensus effect or belief distortion mechanism, where participants justify selfish behavior by assuming others are also selfish, rather than attempting to offset others’ selfishness through prosocial actions."
#ExperimentalEcon

Artificial intelligence, distributional #fairness, and pivotality https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05165240&r=&r=ain
"#AI training introduces a significant shift – individual decisions no longer terminate with the present but… influence the future behavior of scalable algorithms. This amplifies the impact of individual actions, creating lasting #externalities. Yet, the aggregation of data from many individuals may lead to diffused #responsibility, weakening the sense of pivotality. … leading to less prosocial behavior compared to a situation with high perceived pivotality for algorithmic outcomes.
… removing pivotality led to increased #selfishness in how humans trained the algorithm. Importantly, this change in revealed #socialPreferences was driven by a shift in individual responsibility (the power over one’s own or others’ fate) rather than the incentive structures (the expected additional payoff of one’s current decisions through the AI’s training).
… findings reveal a positive correlation between participants’ beliefs about others’ revealed preferences in generating training data and their own AI training choices when they were pivotal for others’ payoffs. This pattern points to a potential #falseConsensus effect or belief distortion mechanism, where participants justify selfish behavior by assuming others are also selfish, rather than attempting to offset others’ selfishness through prosocial actions."
#ExperimentalEcon

Fairness Properties of Compensation Schemes https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11943&r=&r=lma
"… the benefits of providing incentives need to be traded off against unintended side effects due to violation of employees’ #fairness norms
… pay inequality has a strong negative effect on perceived fairness. Controlling for pay #inequality, people consider piece rate schemes fairer than those with a discrete bonus and a tournament design
… if incentive contracts cannot be avoided, they should be designed carefully and motivated with reference to #proceduralFairness"
#LaborMarkets #wages
#ExperimentalEcon

Fairness Properties of Compensation Schemes https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11943&r=&r=lma
"… the benefits of providing incentives need to be traded off against unintended side effects due to violation of employees’ #fairness norms
… pay inequality has a strong negative effect on perceived fairness. Controlling for pay #inequality, people consider piece rate schemes fairer than those with a discrete bonus and a tournament design
… if incentive contracts cannot be avoided, they should be designed carefully and motivated with reference to #proceduralFairness"
#LaborMarkets #wages
#ExperimentalEcon

Experimental Evidence on Attitudes Toward Inequality and Fairness https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-073124-083232
WP: https://www.danielweishaar.net/files/AHW2024_ExperimentalEvidence.pdf
"Although inequality aversion seems important in some contexts– particularly where resources are “manna from heaven”, many experiments also reveal #inequality acceptance, particularly in situations where available resources are linked to the discretionary production choices of individuals. Many people reward effort or productivity when making distributive choices, i.e., they are choice egalitarian or meritocratic. However, across the contexts that we have considered, there are also other prevalent #fairness positions, such as egalitarians, who object to inequalities regardless of how they come about, and libertarians, who accept market allocations and object to redistribution regardless of how inequality comes about."
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality

Experimental Evidence on Attitudes Toward Inequality and Fairness https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-economics-073124-083232
WP: https://www.danielweishaar.net/files/AHW2024_ExperimentalEvidence.pdf
"Although inequality aversion seems important in some contexts– particularly where resources are “manna from heaven”, many experiments also reveal #inequality acceptance, particularly in situations where available resources are linked to the discretionary production choices of individuals. Many people reward effort or productivity when making distributive choices, i.e., they are choice egalitarian or meritocratic. However, across the contexts that we have considered, there are also other prevalent #fairness positions, such as egalitarians, who object to inequalities regardless of how they come about, and libertarians, who accept market allocations and object to redistribution regardless of how inequality comes about."
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality

Noise and Bias: The Cognitive Roots of Economic Errors https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:423483206&r=&r=exp
"… formalizes the idea that decision makers might follow a mixture of rules of behavior combining cognitively imprecise value maximization and computationally simpler shortcuts.
… findings suggest that neither cognitive imprecision nor multiplicity of behavioral rules suffice to explain received patterns in economic decision making.… jointly modeling (cognitive) noise in value maximization and #biases arising from simpler, cognitive shortcuts delivers a unified framework which can parsimoniously explain deviations from normative prescriptions across domains."
#BoundedRationality #heuristics #ExperimentalEcon

Noise and Bias: The Cognitive Roots of Economic Errors https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:423483206&r=&r=exp
"… formalizes the idea that decision makers might follow a mixture of rules of behavior combining cognitively imprecise value maximization and computationally simpler shortcuts.
… findings suggest that neither cognitive imprecision nor multiplicity of behavioral rules suffice to explain received patterns in economic decision making.… jointly modeling (cognitive) noise in value maximization and #biases arising from simpler, cognitive shortcuts delivers a unified framework which can parsimoniously explain deviations from normative prescriptions across domains."
#BoundedRationality #heuristics #ExperimentalEcon

Who Gets the Callback? Generative AI and Gender Bias https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.21400&r=&r=lma
"… most #llm models reproduce stereotypical gender associations and systematically recommend equally qualified women for lower-wage roles, indicating occupational segregation.
… These biases stem from entrenched gender patterns in the training data as well as from an agreeableness bias induced during the reinforcement learning from human feedback stage
.…AI-driven hiring may perpetuate biases in the labor market and have implications for #fairness and diversity within firms"
#AI #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon #LaborEconomics #discrimination #bias

Who Gets the Callback? Generative AI and Gender Bias https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.21400&r=&r=lma
"… most #llm models reproduce stereotypical gender associations and systematically recommend equally qualified women for lower-wage roles, indicating occupational segregation.
… These biases stem from entrenched gender patterns in the training data as well as from an agreeableness bias induced during the reinforcement learning from human feedback stage
.…AI-driven hiring may perpetuate biases in the labor market and have implications for #fairness and diversity within firms"
#AI #jobtech #ExperimentalEcon #LaborEconomics #discrimination #bias

A not so great observation for #experimentalEcon:
"Results indicate that misunderstanding is common: the proportion of participants who misunderstood ranged from 22 % (Dictator Game) to 70 % (#Trust Game) in the online samples and from 22 % (Dictator Game) to 53 % (Public Goods Game) in the lab sample. Incentivizing the comprehension questions had no significant impact on misunderstanding, but #numeracy was associated with lower misunderstanding. Misunderstanding also predicted increased prosocial behavior in several of the games. Our findings suggest that misunderstanding may be important in explaining prosocial behavior, making it more complicated to draw clear inferences about #socialPreferences from experimental data."
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107039
That's why I (almost) always included a comprehension pre-test before the actual experiment.

A not so great observation for #experimentalEcon:
"Results indicate that misunderstanding is common: the proportion of participants who misunderstood ranged from 22 % (Dictator Game) to 70 % (#Trust Game) in the online samples and from 22 % (Dictator Game) to 53 % (Public Goods Game) in the lab sample. Incentivizing the comprehension questions had no significant impact on misunderstanding, but #numeracy was associated with lower misunderstanding. Misunderstanding also predicted increased prosocial behavior in several of the games. Our findings suggest that misunderstanding may be important in explaining prosocial behavior, making it more complicated to draw clear inferences about #socialPreferences from experimental data."
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107039
That's why I (almost) always included a comprehension pre-test before the actual experiment.

Peer pressure or personal choice? How peer working hours shape individual working hours preferences https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:315193&r=&r=exp
"We show that colleagues’ working hours causally affect working hours preferences. The reasons given by the respondents for choosing the stated working hours, by contrast, are primarily personal. This shows that preferences are socially determined, even if they are rationalised in individualistic terms. Our findings emphasise the importance of collective action for working time policy and highlight methodological challenges that need to be considered when analysing and interpreting working time preferences."
#LaborEcon #ExperimentalEcon

Peer pressure or personal choice? How peer working hours shape individual working hours preferences https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:315193&r=&r=exp
"We show that colleagues’ working hours causally affect working hours preferences. The reasons given by the respondents for choosing the stated working hours, by contrast, are primarily personal. This shows that preferences are socially determined, even if they are rationalised in individualistic terms. Our findings emphasise the importance of collective action for working time policy and highlight methodological challenges that need to be considered when analysing and interpreting working time preferences."
#LaborEcon #ExperimentalEcon

Improving Numerical Measures of Human Feelings: The Case of Pain https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:421926304&r=&r=exp
"… proposed and validated a new method to measure the experienced intensity of acute pain across individuals. This method proved to be overwhelmingly more accurate and sensitive than standard, established methods for experimentally-induced acute pain which are used in medical, clinical and research applications
… In the case of experienced pain intensity, the mechanism that enables the new #measurement method to excel might indeed be rooted in its well-calibrated scale: #money.
… Money-free standard methods ask people for numerical estimations of their experiences without a benchmark for the numerical scale, which might lead them to choose salient numbers or intermediate values.
… Monetary amounts provide interpersonally comparable references and thereby reduce the intrinsic subjectivity in pain measurements.
… The use of monetary incentives is unproblematic for those applications, as it is already common practice to reward participation in them"
#ExperimentalEcon #calibration #validity #interpersonalComparison

Improving Numerical Measures of Human Feelings: The Case of Pain https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lan:wpaper:421926304&r=&r=exp
"… proposed and validated a new method to measure the experienced intensity of acute pain across individuals. This method proved to be overwhelmingly more accurate and sensitive than standard, established methods for experimentally-induced acute pain which are used in medical, clinical and research applications
… In the case of experienced pain intensity, the mechanism that enables the new #measurement method to excel might indeed be rooted in its well-calibrated scale: #money.
… Money-free standard methods ask people for numerical estimations of their experiences without a benchmark for the numerical scale, which might lead them to choose salient numbers or intermediate values.
… Monetary amounts provide interpersonally comparable references and thereby reduce the intrinsic subjectivity in pain measurements.
… The use of monetary incentives is unproblematic for those applications, as it is already common practice to reward participation in them"
#ExperimentalEcon #calibration #validity #interpersonalComparison

Fairness Across the World https://openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/3184837/DP%2006.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
"… the meritocratic #fairness view is not universally accepted, and plays only a marginal role in many countries, especially outside of the Western world.
… #meritocracy is particularly prominent in richer countries
… people’s belief about the source of #inequality is crucial for whether they consider inequality in their society to be fair, but we also establish that these beliefs are particularly important in countries where people endorse the meritocratic fairness views
… It appears plausible that the meritocratic fairness view is conducive to economic #growth
… cross-country differences in #redistribution through taxes and transfers also are associated with differences in fairness views, with more redistribution in countries with a higher share of meritocrats, which highlights the importance of incorporating #heterogeneity in both fairness preferences and beliefs when studying the political economy of redistribution
… people’s view on redistribution is primarily driven by fairness considerations, the perception that inequality in their country is unfair, rather than #efficiency considerations"
#ExperimentalEcon

Fairness Across the World https://openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/3184837/DP%2006.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
"… the meritocratic #fairness view is not universally accepted, and plays only a marginal role in many countries, especially outside of the Western world.
… #meritocracy is particularly prominent in richer countries
… people’s belief about the source of #inequality is crucial for whether they consider inequality in their society to be fair, but we also establish that these beliefs are particularly important in countries where people endorse the meritocratic fairness views
… It appears plausible that the meritocratic fairness view is conducive to economic #growth
… cross-country differences in #redistribution through taxes and transfers also are associated with differences in fairness views, with more redistribution in countries with a higher share of meritocrats, which highlights the importance of incorporating #heterogeneity in both fairness preferences and beliefs when studying the political economy of redistribution
… people’s view on redistribution is primarily driven by fairness considerations, the perception that inequality in their country is unfair, rather than #efficiency considerations"
#ExperimentalEcon

Experiments: Why, How, and A Users Guide for Producers as well as Consumers
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w33630/w33630.pdf

"For anyone designing or consuming experiments: A great experiment is almost like a performance! It is supposed to look simple, obvious, and effortless. This does not mean that it was easy, simple, or quick to get there."
#experimentalEcon

Experiments: Why, How, and A Users Guide for Producers as well as Consumers
https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w33630/w33630.pdf

"For anyone designing or consuming experiments: A great experiment is almost like a performance! It is supposed to look simple, obvious, and effortless. This does not mean that it was easy, simple, or quick to get there."
#experimentalEcon

Willingness to Compete in Dirty Competitions https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17676&r=&r=exp
"… a substantial proportion of participants are willing to engage in dirty behavior. Across conditions, 30-40% of participants enhance their chances of winning by #sabotaging their opponent or #lying about their performance. But note that this also means that in each condition, a majority of participants refrain from playing dirty, either by not entering the competition or by competing cleanly.
… women, higher-educated people, and older people are less willing to engage in dirty competition
… People with a higher willingness to engage in dirty #competition (and lower aversion to dirty play by others) are more likely to work in a management position and less likely to work in the public sector.
… a willingness to play dirty may be individually profitable, leading to upward mobility in corporate environments, it also seems to come at a social and psychological cost. People with a higher willingness to engage in dirty competition have fewer close contacts and lower self-esteem, and are more likely to experience feelings of #guilt and #shame."
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

Willingness to Compete in Dirty Competitions https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17676&r=&r=exp
"… a substantial proportion of participants are willing to engage in dirty behavior. Across conditions, 30-40% of participants enhance their chances of winning by #sabotaging their opponent or #lying about their performance. But note that this also means that in each condition, a majority of participants refrain from playing dirty, either by not entering the competition or by competing cleanly.
… women, higher-educated people, and older people are less willing to engage in dirty competition
… People with a higher willingness to engage in dirty #competition (and lower aversion to dirty play by others) are more likely to work in a management position and less likely to work in the public sector.
… a willingness to play dirty may be individually profitable, leading to upward mobility in corporate environments, it also seems to come at a social and psychological cost. People with a higher willingness to engage in dirty competition have fewer close contacts and lower self-esteem, and are more likely to experience feelings of #guilt and #shame."
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics

The Unintended Effects of Ethical Decision Aids in Organizations https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/5136031.pdf?abstractid=5136031&mirid=1
"Organizations frequently utilize Contemplation Questions in an attempt to foster ethical #decisionMaking and encourage employees to reflect on their actions. Presumably, they particularly target ’bad apples’—those (unknown) employees with a higher propensity for unethical behavior. However, our results indicate that CQs may inadvertently cause ’boomerang’ effects for this group. Individuals with lower #moral identities tend to use their interaction with CQs to justify their unethical preferences, increasing the likelihood of them acting unethically. While some CQs have positive effects on individuals with high moral identities, overall, the unintended consequences seem to be more significant. This aligns with the concept of motivated moral reasoning, where individuals rationalize their initial moral choices."
#ExperimentalEcon #ethics #motivatedReasoning

The Unintended Effects of Ethical Decision Aids in Organizations https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/5136031.pdf?abstractid=5136031&mirid=1
"Organizations frequently utilize Contemplation Questions in an attempt to foster ethical #decisionMaking and encourage employees to reflect on their actions. Presumably, they particularly target ’bad apples’—those (unknown) employees with a higher propensity for unethical behavior. However, our results indicate that CQs may inadvertently cause ’boomerang’ effects for this group. Individuals with lower #moral identities tend to use their interaction with CQs to justify their unethical preferences, increasing the likelihood of them acting unethically. While some CQs have positive effects on individuals with high moral identities, overall, the unintended consequences seem to be more significant. This aligns with the concept of motivated moral reasoning, where individuals rationalize their initial moral choices."
#ExperimentalEcon #ethics #motivatedReasoning

The talent paradox: why is it fair to reward talent but not luck? https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:464&r=&r=exp
"… people distinguish significantly between #inequality due to #luck and inequality due to talent, even when controlling for their beliefs about the extent to which these factors are within individual control.
… individuals are more accepting of inequality caused by talent than by luck because the benefits of talent are only realized if one acts upon it.
… manipulating the extent to which talent is perceived as a personal characteristic has no effect on inequality acceptance"
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics #fairness

The talent paradox: why is it fair to reward talent but not luck? https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:464&r=&r=exp
"… people distinguish significantly between #inequality due to #luck and inequality due to talent, even when controlling for their beliefs about the extent to which these factors are within individual control.
… individuals are more accepting of inequality caused by talent than by luck because the benefits of talent are only realized if one acts upon it.
… manipulating the extent to which talent is perceived as a personal characteristic has no effect on inequality acceptance"
#ExperimentalEcon #BehavioralEconomics #fairness

The Role of Physician #Altruism in the Physician-Industry Relationship: Evidence from Linking Experimental and Observational Data https://www.nber.org/papers/w33439

"Non-altruistic physicians receive industry transfers that are on average 2,184 USD or 254% higher than altruistic physicians. While industry transfers lead to higher drug spending and prescribing on paid drugs, these relationships are entirely driven by non-altruistic physicians."
#ExperimentalEcon

The Role of Physician #Altruism in the Physician-Industry Relationship: Evidence from Linking Experimental and Observational Data https://www.nber.org/papers/w33439

"Non-altruistic physicians receive industry transfers that are on average 2,184 USD or 254% higher than altruistic physicians. While industry transfers lead to higher drug spending and prescribing on paid drugs, these relationships are entirely driven by non-altruistic physicians."
#ExperimentalEcon

Jobseekers' beliefs about comparative advantage & (mis)directed search https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d70f2baf-109c-4bd1-b531-8f0dd4585911/files/s2j62s658t
"Many jobseekers believe they are better at the skill in which they score lower, relative to other jobseekers
…giving them their skill assessment …redirects their search toward jobs that value the skill in which they score higher but does not increase total search effort. It raises earnings & job quality, consistent with inefficient sorting due to limited information."
#LaborMarkets #ExperimentalEcon

Jobseekers' beliefs about comparative advantage & (mis)directed search https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d70f2baf-109c-4bd1-b531-8f0dd4585911/files/s2j62s658t
"Many jobseekers believe they are better at the skill in which they score lower, relative to other jobseekers
…giving them their skill assessment …redirects their search toward jobs that value the skill in which they score higher but does not increase total search effort. It raises earnings & job quality, consistent with inefficient sorting due to limited information."
#LaborMarkets #ExperimentalEcon

Gender Differences in Preferences for Flexible Work Hours: Experimental Evidence from an Online Freelancing Platform https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17434&r=&r=lab
"…workers value flexibility and the demand is higher for women than for men: Flexible jobs led to a 24 % rise in the number of female applicants and a 12 % rise in the number of male applicants
…an increase in flexibility (but not wage) attracts better female, but not male, candidates"
#LaborMarkets #wages #ExperimentalEcon

Gender Differences in Preferences for Flexible Work Hours: Experimental Evidence from an Online Freelancing Platform https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17434&r=&r=lab
"…workers value flexibility and the demand is higher for women than for men: Flexible jobs led to a 24 % rise in the number of female applicants and a 12 % rise in the number of male applicants
…an increase in flexibility (but not wage) attracts better female, but not male, candidates"
#LaborMarkets #wages #ExperimentalEcon

As living costs (excluding medical) tend to decrease over time as people inherit or are looked after by others, should individual income vary throughout life?
Including for people who may die suddenly, e.g. from distracted driving?

Either everyone is worthy of having their needs met OR they are not.

If there are other rewards to incentivise pro-social, sustainable behaviours,
Then we need to implement them.
If we can’t yet, then we need to create more favorable conditions to do so.

Until then, the dogshit I need to memorise from the Life in the UK Test is masturbatory bootlicker propaganda.

Have ‘fun’ https://lifeintheuktests.co.uk/life-in-the-uk-test/

https://nebula.tv/videos/citynerd-this-is-the-thing-that-will-destroy-our-cities/

#economy #ExperimentalEcon #economics #AskAnEconomist #economist #economists #MagicWandWishList

For fucks’ sake. I don’t want to presume to know better than trained economists, nor can I ignore bullshit assumptions.

What, precisely, is wrong with literally every person receiving the same amount of money?
(Maybe proportional up to like age 13 or something, then smaller incremental increases up to the adult rate.)

“It might not produce a functional society if a new engineering graduate and a senior engineering lead doing good work for years, in a high-stress job, were given the same amount of money.” (Summary, not exact words.)

Why? Is the job *necessarily* highly stressful?
Could the job not be split up or involve shared decision-making with shared accountability?

Does choosing to sacrifice your wellbeing make someone more “worthy” of a higher quality of life? Even if there are more effective options available?

https://nebula.tv/videos/citynerd-this-is-the-thing-that-will-destroy-our-cities/

#economy #ExperimentalEcon #economics #AskAnEconomist #economist #economists #MagicWandWishList

Youngism: Discrimination and Stereotypes https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11421&r=&r=exp
"… less pro-social in controlled allocation tasks towards young adults relative to other age groups. This preference bias is widespread, similar in size to #discrimination against immigrants, and increases with age
… young adults are perceived as more immoral, less helpful, less responsible, less hard-working, and enjoying easier lives than other age groups."
#ExperimentalEcon #ageism

Youngism: Discrimination and Stereotypes https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11421&r=&r=exp
"… less pro-social in controlled allocation tasks towards young adults relative to other age groups. This preference bias is widespread, similar in size to #discrimination against immigrants, and increases with age
… young adults are perceived as more immoral, less helpful, less responsible, less hard-working, and enjoying easier lives than other age groups."
#ExperimentalEcon #ageism

Sorting and wage premiums in immoral work https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2412&r=&r=exp
jobs perceived as immoral command higher #wages, & individuals with lower concerns for #morality are more likely to accept such jobs
… corroborated by administrative data showing that industries perceived as immoral pay higher wages, even after controlling for various worker and industry characteristics
#ExperimentalEcon #LaborMarkets #ethics

Sorting and wage premiums in immoral work https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kucebi:2412&r=&r=exp
jobs perceived as immoral command higher #wages, & individuals with lower concerns for #morality are more likely to accept such jobs
… corroborated by administrative data showing that industries perceived as immoral pay higher wages, even after controlling for various worker and industry characteristics
#ExperimentalEcon #LaborMarkets #ethics

Experimental evidence that delegating to intelligent machines can increase dishonest behaviour https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:dnjgz&r=&r=exp
"… #AI can facilitate the delegation of unethical behavior
…cheating requests did not vary between human & machine agents, but compliance diverged: When principals intended agents to cheat to the fullest extent, the majority of human agents did not comply, despite incentives to do so. In contrast, GPT4 nearly fully complied."
#aiEthics #ExperimentalEcon

The determinants of #trust: findings from large, representative samples in 6 OECD countries http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124608/1/Economica_-_2024_-_Kovacs_-_The_determinants_of_trust_findings_from_large_representative_samples_in_six_OECD_countries.pdf
"…even though self-interest is relevant for trustor behaviour, the most important correlate of sending is participants’ #altruism or #fairness concerns, as measured by giving in a dictator game
…behaviour in the trust game and responses in a trust survey are significantly correlated, & similar correlates—altruism in particular—are relevant for both."
#ExperimentalEcon