Publications
Social Preferences Under the Shadow of the Future
with Felix Kölle and Simone Quercia
Experimental Economics (2025)
(ungated version, journal version, replication files)
Social interactions predominantly take place under the shadow of the future. Previous literature explains cooperation in indefinitely repeated prisoner's dilemma as predominantly driven by self-interested strategic considerations. This paper provides a causal test of the importance of social preferences for cooperation, varying the composition of interactions to be either homogeneous or heterogeneous in terms of these preferences. Through a series of pre-registered experiments (N = 1,074), we show that groups of prosocial individuals achieve substantially higher levels of cooperation. The cooperation gap between prosocial and selfish groups persists even when the shadow of the future is increased to make cooperation attractive for the selfish and when common knowledge about group composition is removed.
Misperceived Effectiveness and the Demand for Psychotherapy
with Chris Roth
and Peter Schwardmann
Journal of Public Economics (2024)
(ungated version, journal version,
replication files)
While psychotherapy has been shown to be effective in treating depression, take-up
remains low. In a sample of 1,843 depressed individuals, we document that effectiveness
concerns are top-of-mind when respondents consider the value of therapy. We then show
that the average respondent underestimates the effectiveness of therapy. An information
treatment correcting this misperception increases participants’ incentivized willingness to
pay for a $320 therapy from $166 to $176. Our evidence suggests that while information
can influence therapy demand by altering beliefs and shifting attention, it may not
significantly increase demand unless substantial subsidies are provided.
The Limits of Social Recognition: Experimental Evidence from Blood Donors
with Lorenz Goette
Journal of Public Economics (2024)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
Does social recognition motivate prosocial individuals? We run large-scale experiments at Italy’s main blood donors association, evaluating social recognition through
social media and peer groups against a simple ask to donate. Across several studies, we
find that the simple ask is at least as effective as offering social recognition. In a survey
experiment with blood donors we show that socially recognized donations signal not
only altruism but also image-seeking. This can lead to social recognition being less effective, or even counterproductive, when offered to those who are already perceived as
good citizens
Self-Persuasion: Evidence from Field Experiments at International Debating Competitions
with Peter Schwardmann
and Joël van der Weele
American Economic Review (2022)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
Laboratory evidence shows that when people have to argue for a given position, they persuade
themselves about the position’s factual and moral superiority. Such self-persuasion limits the potential of communication to resolve conflict and reduce polarization. We test for this phenomenon
in a field setting, at international debating competitions that randomly assign experienced and motivated debaters to argue one side of a topical motion. We find self-persuasion in factual beliefs
and confidence in one’s position. Effect sizes are smaller than in the laboratory, but robust to a
one-hour exchange of arguments and a ten-fold increase in incentives for accuracy
Image Concerns in Pledges to Give Blood: Evidence from a Field Experiment
with Christian J. Meyer
Journal of Economic Psychology (2021)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
We use a field experiment to study how social image concerns affect pledges
to engage in a charitable activity. We work with two different blood banks and
a municipal government in Germany to offer sign-ups for human whole blood
donations. Motivated by a simple signaling framework, we randomly vary the
type of organization to donate to and the visibility of the pledge. Our setting also
provides natural variation in the group of people that form the “audience” for
social image concerns. We find evidence for strong social image concerns when
subjects are asked in public whether they would like to pledge a donation with a
well-known charity. Almost all subjects renege on their pledge, with no detectable
differences between treatments. We discuss avenues for further research and end
on a cautionary note for organizations looking to harness pledges as nudges to do
good.
Social Influence in Prosocial Behavior: Evidence From a Large-Scale Experiment
with Lorenz Goette
Journal of the European Economic Association (2021)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
We propose a novel experiment that prevents social learning, thus allowing us
to disentangle the underlying mechanisms of social influence. Subjects observe
their peer’s incentives, but not their behavior. We find evidence of conformity:
when individuals believe that incentives make others contribute more, they also
increase their contributions. Conformity is driven by individuals who feel socially
close to their peer. However, when incentives are not expected to raise their peer’s
contributions, participants reduce their own contributions. Our data is consistent
with an erosion of norm-adherence when prosocial behavior of the social reference
is driven by extrinsic motives, and cannot be explained by incentive inequality or
altruistic crowding out. These findings show scope for social influence in settings
with limited observability and offer insights into the mediators of conformity.
Unequal Consequences of Covid 19 across Age and Income: Representative Evidence from Six Countries
with Michele Belot,
Syngjoo Choi,
Eline van den Broek-Altenburg,
Julian Jamison
and Nick Papageorge
Review of Economics of the Household (2021)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
Covid-19 and the measures taken to contain it have led to unprecedented constraints on work and leisure activities, across the world. This paper uses nationally
representative surveys to document how people of different ages and incomes have
been affected across six countries (China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, UK and US). We
first document changes in economic variables (income and consumption) and leisure.
Second, we document self-reported negative and positive non-financial effects of the
crisis. We then examine attitudes towards recommendations (wearing a mask in particular) and the approach taken by public authorities. We find similarities across countries in how people of different generations have been affected. Young people have
experienced more drastic changes to their lives, and overall they are less supportive of
these measures. These patterns are less clear across income groups: while some countries have managed to shield lower income individuals from negative consequences,
others have not. We also show that how people have been affected by the crisis (positively or negatively) does little to explain whether or not they support measures implemented by the public authorities. Young people are overall less supportive of such
measures independently of how they have been affected.
Socio-Demographic Factors Associated with Self-Protecting Behavior during the Covid-19 Pandemic
with Nick Papageorge,
Matthew Zahn,
Michele Belot,
Eline van den Broek-Altenburg,
Syngjoo Choi,
and Julian Jamison
Journal of Population Economics (2021)
(ungated version,
journal version)
Disease spread is in part a function of individual behavior. We examine the factors
predicting individual behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States using novel data collected by Belot et al. (2020). Among other factors, we show that
people with lower income, less flexible work arrangements (e.g., an inability to telework) and lack of outside space at home are less likely to engage in behaviors, such
as social distancing, that limit the spread of disease. We also find evidence that region, gender and beliefs predict behavior. Broadly, our findings align with typical
relationships between health and socio-economic status. Moreover, they suggest that
the burden of measures designed to stem the pandemic are unevenly distributed across
socio-demographic groups in ways that affect behavior and thus potentially the spread
of illness. Policies that assume otherwise are unlikely to be effective or sustainable.
Does Positive Feedback of Social Impact Motivate Prosocial Behavior? A Field Experiment with Blood Donors
with Lorenz Goette
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (2020)
(ungated version,
journal version,
replication files)
Positive feedback about the outcome of volunteers’ prosocial actions is often thought
to help motivate continued volunteers’ engagement. In the context of blood donations,
various collection systems have begun to provide blood donors feedback on successful
utilization of their blood donation. An experiment conducted by the main NGO that supports the collection of blood in Italy studies how such feedback affects subsequent blood
donations. From a sample of over 8’000 blood donors, we find that providing feedback of
successful utilization decreases donations. Though surprising, these results are consistent
with theoretical models in which individuals engage in prosocial behavior to sustain a
positive self-image: feedback about the outcome of a recent donation can act as reminders
that boost self-image and reduce the need for re-engaging soon in prosocial activities. Interestingly for policy, we also show that combining the feedback with an explicit request
to sign up for a new donation can eliminate, but not overturn, the negative effect of the
feedback.
Working Papers
Personalized Reminders: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Voluntary Retirement Savings in Colombia
with Jared Gars, Laura Prada and Santiago Borda
(most recent wp, CESifo wp)
A large share of the global workforce lacks access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. In Colombia, where labor informality is high, the government introduced the Beneficios Económicos Periódicos (BEPS) program to promote voluntary retirement savings. However, many enrollees fail to contribute regularly. We conduct a randomized controlled trial with 2,819 BEPS users, assigning them to different planning and monthly reminder treatments, where reminders are tailored in their timing. We find that personalized reminders significantly increase both the frequency and amount of savings, with individuals who recognize their forgetfulness more likely to demand reminders. Our findings highlight the role of reminders tailored to individuals' preferred timing in sustaining engagement in voluntary savings programs.
Talking across the Aisle
with Luca Braghieri and Peter Schwardmann
(most recent wp,
CEPR wp)
This paper presents the results of a large-scale experiment in which U.S. Democrats and Republicans engage in naturalistic face-to-face video conversations focused on political facts. We investigate both self-selection into politically homogeneous conversations and the effects of co- and cross-partisan interactions on information aggregation and affective polarization. We find that participants exhibit a preference for co-partisan conversations that is driven by pessimistic expectations about both the relative informational and hedonic value of cross-partisan interactions. Broadly in line with their beliefs, participants learn slightly less from cross-partisan than from co-partisan conversations. This gap in learning arises not from how knowledge is distributed across party lines, but from a significantly greater difficulty of extracting knowledge from counter-partisans. Participants' pessimism about the hedonic value of conversations is less warranted, as co- and cross-partisan conversations are, on average, deemed equally enjoyable ex post. Moreover, cross-partisan interactions lead to a reduction in affective polarization that persists more than three months after the end of our experiment. Taken together, our findings suggest that policies that encourage cross-partisan interactions with the aim of reducing affective polarization and promoting information aggregation may be more successful at the former goal than at the latter.
Depression Stigma
with Chris Roth and Peter Schwardmann
(most recent wp,
ECONtribute wp)
Throughout history, people with mental illness have been discriminated against and stigmatized. Our experiment provides a new measure of perceived depression stigma and then investigates the causal effect of perceived stigma on help-seeking in a sample of 1,844 Americans suffering from depression. A large majority of our participants overestimate the extent of stigma associated with depression. In contrast to prior correlational evidence, lowering perceived social stigma through an information intervention leads to a reduction in the demand for psychotherapy. A mechanism experiment reveals that this information increases optimism about future mental health, thereby reducing the perceived need for therapy.
Non-refereed Publications
Six-Country Survey on Covid-19
with Michele Belot,
Eline van den Broek-Altenburg,
Syngjoo Choi,
Julian Jamison, and
Nick Papageorge
Covid Economics (2020)
(ungated version,
IZA dp,
data)
This paper presents a new data set collected on representative samples across 6
countries: China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, the UK and the four largest states in the
US. The information collected relates to work and living situations, income, behavior (such as social-distancing, hand-washing and wearing a face mask), beliefs about
the Covid 19 pandemic and exposure to the virus, socio-demographic characteristics
and pre-pandemic health characteristics. In each country, the samples are nationally
representative along three dimensions: age, gender, and household income, and in
the US, it is also representative for race. The data were collected in the third week of
April 2020. The data set could be used for multiple purposes, including calibrating
certain parameters used in economic and epidemiological models, or for documenting the impact of the crisis on individuals, both in financial and psychological terms,
and for understanding the scope for policy intervention by documenting how people
have adjusted their behavior as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and their perceptions regarding the measures implemented in their countries. The data is publicly
available.
Dormant Papers
Sorting Into Incentives for Prosocial Behavior
with Christian. J. Meyer
(most recent wp,
SSRN wp)
This paper studies incentivized voluntary contributions to a charitable activity.
Motivated by the market for blood donations in Germany, we study a setting where different incentives coexist and agents can choose to donate without receiving monetary compensation. This lets agents reveal and signal their individual preferences through their actions. In a model that interacts image concerns of agents with intrinsic and extrinsic incentives to donate, we show that this setting can bring about efficiency gains in the collection similar to those deriving from self-selection in second-degree price discrimination. We develop a laboratory experiment to test our theoretical predictions under controlled conditions. Results show that a collection system where compensation can be turned down can improve the efficiency of collection. Introducing the choice to be compensated does not crowd out unpaid donations. A significant share of donors chooses to donate without being compensated. Heterogeneity in treatment effects suggests gender-specific preferences over signaling.