Behavioral Economics Commons^™

Fairness Doesn't Have To Be Egalitarian: Evidence From Bargaining Games, Kevin Wong

Theses and Dissertations

I develop a theoretical model and provide experimental evidence that social norms of fairness play a critical role in determining equilibrium outcomes in bargaining games.

Motives For (In)Effective Giving: Comparing Rural And Urban Groups In South Africa., Luvuyo Bulelani Magwaza

Master's Theses

Different cultures have their own set of norms and values that not only shape people’s motives but also influences their decision making. What may be viewed as logical and ethical in one culture, may be seen as illogical or unethical in another. One area that is consistently affected by cross-cultural differences in motives is charitable giving. Recently, there has been an increase in interest around effective altruism— a social movement and philosophy that argues, people should give to charities that do the most good. Prior research that has found that people do not give based on efficiency; instead, people give …

The Economics Of Altruism: An Exploration Of Self And Collective Identity, Catherine Krempasky

Honors Projects

There is a belief that students in college often pursue an undergraduate business degree due to the money that comes with the industry. Whereas students pursuing an undergraduate degree in health and human services are believed to be more altruistic, pursuing jobs such as social work, nursing, criminal justice, and other careers that give back to communities despite their often lower-than-average salaries. While this difference in altruism is a common belief, it has rarely been a proven one. Therefore, this study seeks to examine the difference in altruism between students from the Schmidthorst College of Business and the College of …

Three Essays In Experimental And Behavioral Economics, Vasudha Chopra

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents three essays that use experimental economics methods. The first essay examines how behavior in inter-group contests is altered when players have incomplete information on their opponent. The game is a Tullock contest with heterogeneous groups (differences in cost-of-effort, prize value, and group-size), and players only know the probability their opponent is a particular type. For cost and value treatments, incomplete information increases effort in uneven contests but has no effect in even contests. Group-level effort is higher in group-size treatments, but incomplete information does not systematically alter effort. Overall, group-level effort is much higher than what standard …

Empowering Older Adults With Their Information Privacy Management, Reza Ghaiumy Anaraky

All Dissertations

Literature depicts a deficit-based narrative around older adults and their technology use, suggesting that older adults are not able to keep up with their younger counterparts in adopting new technologies. In this dissertation, I argue that this view is not necessarily accurate or productive. Instead, I argue that the deficit is in the technology design, which is not inclusive and often caters to the needs of younger adults.

I study older and younger adults' privacy decision-making as a showcase. To study the privacy decision-making process with more granularity, I used a dual-route approach (decision heuristics and privacy calculus) to disentangle …

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Examining Mobile Health App Engagement In A North American Employee Population: A One-Year Longitudinal Observational Study, Nabil Ratanshi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) apps may help promote physical activity and other health behaviours among office-based workers. Low app engagement, however, leading to little or no effect is typical. OBJECTIVE: To examine engagement with a rewards-based mHealth app and identify factors influencing engagement. METHODS: A one-year observational study was conducted with Canadian and U.S. users of the Sprout at Work app (N=2253; Female: 35.7%; Age: 39.3 years). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to examine engagement patterns from a ‘multiple-lives’ perspective (i.e., time to first disengagement, re-engagement, second disengagement). Regression models were used to identify factors influencing engagement. RESULTS: After one …

How An Abusive Supervision Climate Impacts Business-To-Business (B2b) Sales Performance, And The Roles Of Leader–Members Interdependence And Team Psychological Safety, Matthew J. Daniel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sales supervisors can tremendously influence the sales teams they manage, and their behaviors can influence a team’s engagement and sales performance. Because of the supervisor’s influential role, their behavior, positive or negative, can ripple throughout the organization. As a result, a supervisor who role models abusive behavior within their organization also promotes a climate of abuse and incivility that can contribute to a toxic workplace. Abusive supervision (AS) is a significant problem in many business-to-business (B2B) sales organizations that negatively impacts the financial welfare and subjective well-being of organizations and their employees. This quantitative correlational study aimed to examine how …

The Effects Of Network Structure And Social Information On Contribution Performance On Crowdfunding Platforms: An Experimental Investigation, Yanni Hu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The long-term potentiality of online communities and activities depends critically on contribution behaviors of online individuals. In this dissertation, this study deepen and extend our understanding of contribution behavior by applying contributions to crowdfunding platforms, whereas social networks, social information, and social influence affect people’s contribution decisions, which in turn influences their contribution performances. Specifically, this study looked into how contribution behavior at crowdfunding platforms is shaped at a fundamental level of social interactions initiated by social and information technologies on contribution performance, using online and natural experiments as study methodologies.

Examining the effects brought by online social interactions on …

The Effects Of Consumer Loan Application Formats And Advertised Terms On Consumer Borrowing Decisions, Alicia M. Johnson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Consumers continue to demonstrate a willingness to accrue more debt. They are also more accepting of increased repayment risk via the acceptance of longer loan terms. Extant research on consumer borrowing consists primarily of experiments designed to assess consumer choices and understand how consumers evaluate loan attributes in relation to one another within consumer borrowing contexts (Kamleitner, Hoelzl, and Kirchler 2012; Ranyard et al., 2006). Thus, prior research examines consumer responses to loan information rather than the generation of loan parameters at the time of financing. With important implications for consumers, marketers of financial products, academic researchers, and federal regulators, …

Three Essays On Consumption Smoothing, Logan James Miller

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Macroeconomic theory has established that consumption smoothing leads to higher standards of living. A stable consumption path can lead to more stability and less uncertainty between periods of high and low income. However, there is a wide body of literature that shows people do not consistently smooth their consumption when exposed to adverse income shocks. This dissertation uses experimental and empirical methods to better understand the obstacles people face when trying to smooth their consumption over time. It looks to understand the differences in pairs and individuals’ ability to smooth consumption. It also explores how the household’s level of income …

Discrete Choice Experiments In Agricultural And Food Economics: Two Essays On Information Provision Modalities, Uncertainty Adjustment, And Hypothetical Bias, Monsoïa Arsène Juste Agossadou

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stated discrete choice experiments are extensively used in applied economics to study preferences and valuation for new products, as well as costs and benefits of new policies and programs. Moreover, information provision experiments widely use the method to examine information effects on different outcomes. This thesis explores two methodological issues in discrete choice experiments: (i) information provision modalities and (ii) hypothetical bias. The first study examines the effect of information modality by testing the effect of using combined text script and audio clip (treatment) versus only text script (control) to convey information in discrete choice experiments. Specifically, the study elicits …

Finance And Fear: Sentiment, Media, And Financial Markets During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Alison N. Sommers

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to build on existing research of market psychology and the effect of sentiment on financial markets. The main objective of this study is to determine the ability of investors to make rational decisions during the most recent period of high sentiment. The anomalies that have occurred in the stock market can be better understood by market psychology which focuses on the biases and social factors that influence investors. The media is a newly relevant factor impacting the volume of sentiment present in the market. A review of literature reveals that many studies of sentiment and financial market’s …

Three Essays On Development Economics And Human Capital, Arpita Khanna

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In the first chapter, we estimate the impact of exposure to the 2015 Nepal Earthquake on intimate partner violence with two rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys data. Using differences-in-differences estimation, we find that exposure to the earthquake lead to a statistically and economically significant increase in intimate partner violence in the urban areas but not in the rural areas. This is possibly due to an increase in the stress felt by the victims. We also offer some evidence that the impact heterogeneity between the urban and rural areas is attributable to the differences in the reconstruction processes and assistance …

The Modern-Day Effect Of Holc Redlining On Neighborhood Development, Liubov Ivashov

Master's Theses

Racial segregation, which happened more than one hundred years ago in the U.S., is a fundamental cause of economic inequality for people living in historically segregated neighborhoods today. Redlining was one form of federal policy that forced to separate communities by race even more after the Great Depression. The Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps are widely used in economic research papers as one of the most comprehensive sources of data available to measure the effect of residential segregation. In this paper, using the Historical Redline Score (HRS) method, the author measured the association between modern-day population distribution, rent prices, …

Does My Skin Tone Really Matter? A Socioeconomic Analysis In Nigeria., Mutiu O. Fakorede

Master's Theses

Abstract: Does my skin tone really matter? If it does, to what extent and direction does skin tone predict socioeconomic outcomes, especially amongst people of color who have experienced colonial rule with its white supremacy agenda? In this research, we examined if skin tone measured in individual typology angle (ITA) does not affect employability, income, partner selection, and political representativeness. With a focus on Nigeria, the most populous black nation, a former British colony, we addressed this broad question through a survey. Using the iterative capability of Qualtrics which randomly picks a set of three pictures with known ITA and …

Can Social Support Ameliorate Burnout?, Timothy Finney

Master's Theses

Mental health provides different areas of interest compared to physical health when looking at general health. Social support decreases the negative impacts of burnout while positively influencing productive components of the economy. Social sciences other than economics such as sociology and psychology take notice of the impact of social support on burnout. Pronto Soccorso e Medicina d’ Urgenza Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria in Parma, Italy provides high quality health care services before and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while anticipating continuing to administer care well into the future. Here we show social support effecting workers in the health care industry. Work colleagues influencing …

Essays In Advertising, Regulation And Consumer Naivety, Aastha Gupta

Economics Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays that focus on the theoretical analysis of regulation of firm’s communication regarding the quality of its product and the impact of such regulation on market outcome.

The first essay, “Advertising Through Influencers and Disclosure Regulation”, focuses on the recent FTC regulations which require mandatory disclosure of all paid advertising content through social media influencers. This chapter investigates the impact of this disclosure policy on market outcomes when the influencer has the expertise to evaluate product quality and influence the beliefs of both potential buyers as well as the firm. In markets where the influencers …

The Elusive And Complex Parabolic Relationship Between Terrorism And Gdp Per-Capita, Kianna Becker

Honors Capstones

The 21st century saw a dramatic focus on terrorism after the events of September 11, 2001. The search for an explanation for the causes of terrorism have led economists to turn to the role of GDP on terrorism. This research aims to search for a pattern in the relationship between GDP per-capita and acts of terrorism. Previous research has pointed towards both a positive and negative trend. The stark different findings in previous research attests to the various ways terrorism is measured and analyzed. Encapsulating the previous research, this research merges the two theories and aims to show there is …

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Oaths And Evasion: Variable Honesty In Tax Evasion Games, Logan Krebs

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Previous research has indicated that an ex-ante pledge of honesty reduces the likelihood that participants will lie during a lab experiment. We show that a bandwagon effect, occurring when participants know that others are acting dishonestly, can erode the positive effects of honesty oaths. Taxpayers do not make their reporting decisions in a vacuum. They have access to information concerning how others in the community are behaving and develop perceptions around this information. We add these realistic features to a tax evasion game involving an ex-ante honesty oath. Results indicate that social context can reduce the positive effects of honesty …

Factors Affecting Graduation With Honors: A Case Study In Business, William Litzinger

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many first-year college students elect to enroll in their university’s honors program. These programs offer students many educational benefits not provided to non-honors students, such as smaller class sizes, priority registration, and added faculty interaction. However, of the students that enter the university as an honors student, many fail to complete their honors program. Researchers have documented completion rates as low as 18.45% (Campbell and Fuqua, 2008). So why are honors graduation rates so low? In this study, variables were examined that the literature suggests affects honors graduation rates (High School GPA, ACT/SAT scores, AP credits, GPA 1^st term …

Impact Of Fear On Interpersonal And Economic Decision-Making, John Wilson

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fear is one of the most basic, intrinsic, and powerful emotions an individual may experience when faced with known or unknown threats, imminent pressures, or expectations of approaching doom. Fear may allow an individual to act quickly in a fight-or-flight response. Fear can alter both physiological and psychological frameworks to avoid certain calamity. Fear provides motivation to protect oneself or to effectuate altruistic behavior towards others for the greater good. One lesser explored area of research pertaining to fear and its implications is the influence of fear on interpersonal and economic decision-making. Economic volatility can produce both immediate consequences as …

Economic Experiments On Group Identity And Bias, Nathaniel Christopher Burke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Experiments in economics have been a valuable tool to understand the behavioral implications of incentives on the decision-making process. Particularly, aspects of decision making that cannot be observed in empirical data can be better isolated in an experimental setting such as bias and identity impacts. This dissertation uses three distinct experiments to further the understanding of individual biases, perceptions, and identity and how they impact the way people defer to these internal traits under incentives. This dissertation looks at how well individuals can make inferences about polling data that was collected from individuals susceptible to socially desirable responding. It also …

The Organizational Evolution Of Small Food Buying Clubs, Taylor Lange

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organizations are pervasive in modern society and the factors of their evolution are the subject of considerable scholarship. Most literature on organizational evolution focuses on the role of leaders and entrepreneurs, specifically their decision making interacts with market forces. However, the behavior and interactions of regular organization members, such as nonmanagerial employees or club members, is surprisingly overlooked. Specifically, examinations of social dilemmas between co-workers and the role of learning are often discounted in the current literature. This dissertation explores how the dynamics of cooperation and the learning of preferences as cultural traits become consequential in the evolution and longevity …

How Do Virtual Social Media Influencers Affect Millennial And Gen Z Female Consumers’ Purchase Intention? A Comparison Of Fast Fashion Versus Luxury Fashion Brands, Lauren Bouvier

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the emergence and increasing prevalence of social media, the effectiveness of social media influencers (SMIs) is apparent in today’s fast-paced life. Virtual social media influencers (VSMIs), computer-generated influencers with a real human appearance, have gained popularity. The purpose of this study is to examine important VSMI’s characteristics that affect brand image and trust which lead to purchase intention (fast fashion vs. luxury fashion brand). Social exchange theory and source credibility model were adopted to develop a theoretical framework for the present study. Two Instagram ads were developed that included the post’s image and corresponding caption: VSMI endorsing H&M and …

Contextualizing The 2019 “Chile Despertó” Movement: The Impact Of Historical Relational Processes On Mobilization And Repression, Tanya Leon

International Studies (MA) Theses

To expand our theoretical and empirical understanding of mobilization and repression in Latin America, this thesis asks three critical questions. Are economic indicators sufficient predictors of social movement emergence in Latin America? What other factors contribute to large-scale mobilization in Latin America? How do government’s respond to large-scale Latin American social movements? Specifically, when, and why do democratic governments choose to employ repression against social movements? Accordingly, I construct a quantitative model to test the correlation between rise in protest and worsened economic conditions. I apply it to a comprehensive dataset of political events in multiple South American countries throughout …

The Role Of Homeownership In Taiwan's Low Fertility Story, William Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With one of the lowest fertility rates on record, Taiwan is at the forefront of the global lowest-low fertility phenomenon. Policymakers in Taiwan and researchers around the world have a considerable interest in the reasons driving Taiwan’s depressed fertility and possible ways to alleviate the associated economic concerns. Properties of the housing market represent one suggested factor that may be contributing to this trend. Using individual panel data from Taiwan’s Panel Study of Family Dynamics, I test the correlation between homeownership and fertility outcomes. I find that other variables, such as marriage, age, generation, and socioeconomic status, can explain much …

Recessionary Effects On Transfer Fees In European Professional Football, Pierce Snyder

Honors Theses

Association football, most commonly referred to internationally as football, is the world’s most popular sport with billions of fans. Professional football leagues operate in countries all over the globe. While other continents have prominent and successful teams, Europe is the sport’s summit for the club level of competition. Europe boasts the best five leagues in the world, commonly referred to as “the big five”: the Bundesliga (Germany), La Liga (Spain), Ligue 1 (France), Premier League (England), and Serie A (Italy). In the 2016-2017 season, these five leagues accounted for 12.6 billion pounds—57.5 percent—of European football’s revenues of about 21.9 billion …

Cryptocurrencies Bandwagon…Fad Wave Or Investment Asset? Firm Level Analysis Of Panel Data In Egypt, Yasmine Galal

Theses and Dissertations

The crypto market is growing rapidly and gaining momentum globally. The current study is tackling the impact of the crypto exchanges on the stock market in Egypt. The author consolidated firm level data from DataStream and Cryptocurrency data from CoinDesk to conduct this study over the period 2014-2020. The methodology is based on Fixed Effect and IV-GMM models to study the differential impact across sectors and firm attributes. Our main findings can be highlighted as follows: (a) cryptocurrencies are substitutes to stocks. (b)Two periods are highlighted in the analysis: 2016 post currency devaluation and COVID-19 pandemic, where the adoption was …

Decision Making In International Supply Chain Investment, Noah Quint Curtin

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

In this paper, supply chain decision-makers where and how to internationally invest into supply chains. I focus on outside institutional factors, and intra-firm behavioral factors that affect where and how they invest. I first review the literature on international investment at large. Later for my part of the research, I conduct a series of semi-structured interviews with international supply chain decision-maker primarily in Denver to better understand their processes. I find that they value business models higher than “hunches”, but also that tacit knowledge and relationships play an important role in their processes.