#experimentalecon — Public Fediverse posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Too old to be a diversity hire: choice bundling shown to increase gender-diverse hiring decisions fails to increase age diversity
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/120910/3/Jolles_too_old_to_be_a_diversity_hire_published.pdf
"…found evidence of bias against older job candidates in hiring decisions but found inconsistent effects of choice bundling on the selection of older candidates across experiments."
#ageDiscrimination #LaborEconomics #ExperimentalEcon

Too old to be a diversity hire: choice bundling shown to increase gender-diverse hiring decisions fails to increase age diversity
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/120910/3/Jolles_too_old_to_be_a_diversity_hire_published.pdf
"…found evidence of bias against older job candidates in hiring decisions but found inconsistent effects of choice bundling on the selection of older candidates across experiments."
#ageDiscrimination #LaborEconomics #ExperimentalEcon

Nothing Really Matters: Evaluating Demand-Side Moderators of Age #Discrimination in Hiring http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16672&r=exp
"… senior candidates experience discrimination during the hiring process. On average, they receive 16.97% fewer positive responses than comparable younger candidates
… none of the investigated demand-side characteristics moderated the #ageDiscrimination observed in the field experiment"
#LaborMarkets #LaborEconomics #ExperimentalEcon

Nothing Really Matters: Evaluating Demand-Side Moderators of Age #Discrimination in Hiring http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16672&r=exp
"… senior candidates experience discrimination during the hiring process. On average, they receive 16.97% fewer positive responses than comparable younger candidates
… none of the investigated demand-side characteristics moderated the #ageDiscrimination observed in the field experiment"
#LaborMarkets #LaborEconomics #ExperimentalEcon

A Subtle Selection Effect in Overconfidence Studies https://kevindorst.substack.com/p/a-subtle-selection-effect-in-overconfidence
The standard methods for studying #overconfidence might be overestimating it. In asking people for confidence intervals—the narrowest intervals that they’re confident contain the true value—we’re selecting for the intervals that are most likely to be overestimates.
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality #ExperimentalPsychology

A Subtle Selection Effect in Overconfidence Studies https://kevindorst.substack.com/p/a-subtle-selection-effect-in-overconfidence
The standard methods for studying #overconfidence might be overestimating it. In asking people for confidence intervals—the narrowest intervals that they’re confident contain the true value—we’re selecting for the intervals that are most likely to be overestimates.
#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality #ExperimentalPsychology

Does Artificial Intelligence Help or Hurt Gender Diversity? http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2023-09&r=exp
the use of #AI in recruitment changes the gender distribution of potential hires, in some cases more than doubling the fraction of top applicants that are women. This change is generated by better outcomes for women in both supply and demand.
#jobtech #ExperimentalEcon #Discrimination

Does Artificial Intelligence Help or Hurt Gender Diversity? http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mos:moswps:2023-09&r=exp
the use of #AI in recruitment changes the gender distribution of potential hires, in some cases more than doubling the fraction of top applicants that are women. This change is generated by better outcomes for women in both supply and demand.
#jobtech #ExperimentalEcon #Discrimination

Aversion to hiring algorithms: Transparency, gender profiling, & self-confidence http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2022202&r=&r=exp
"Providing details on how the algorithm works does not increase the preference for the algorithm, neither for workers nor for managers. Providing feedback to managers about their performance in hiring the best workers increases their preference for the algorithm, as managers are…overconfident."

#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality #jobtech

Aversion to hiring algorithms: Transparency, gender profiling, & self-confidence http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:wzbmbh:spii2022202&r=&r=exp
"Providing details on how the algorithm works does not increase the preference for the algorithm, neither for workers nor for managers. Providing feedback to managers about their performance in hiring the best workers increases their preference for the algorithm, as managers are…overconfident."

#ExperimentalEcon #BoundedRationality #jobtech