Behavioral Economics Commons^™

A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Effect Of Employer Support On Employee Productivity, Shawn Tuman, Haley Lipton

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The purpose of this creative, collaborative, capstone project is to conduct a cross-cultural examination of the effect of employer support on employee productivity by compiling, examining, and synthesizing conclusions from existing research. In a world of growing globalization and technological innovation, the speed of productivity is often the cornerstone that differentiates successful businesses from unsuccessful businesses, providing a competitive advantage to the quick while the others fall behind. Often this increased level of efficiency comes at a cost beyond the price of the product and the salary of employees, a deeper, psychological cost. By reviewing research focused in the United …

Proposition 47 And Crime: A Difference In Differences Analysis Of Incarceration Rates And Crime Using Border Counties, Brian J. Fischer

Theses and Dissertations

California passed Proposition 47 by vote and changed the way the state punishes drug and theft. I find an increase in crime using a difference in differences model by computing the change in thefts with the change in inmates. This effect sides with anecdotal claims and disagrees with empirical studies.

A Portable Method Of Eliciting Respect For Social Norms, Erik O. Kimbrough, Alexander Vostroknutov

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

Recent models of prosociality suggest that cooperation in laboratory games may be better understood as resulting from concern for social norms than from prosocial preferences over outcomes. Underlying this interpretation is the idea that people exhibit heterogeneous respect for shared norms. We introduce a new, abstract task to elicit a proxy for individual norm-following propensity by asking subjects to choose from two actions, where one is costly. We instruct subjects that “the rule is” to take the costly action. Their willingness to incur such a cost reveals respect for norms. We show that choices in this task are similar across …

Attentional Processing: Replication And Extension Of Selection Bias As A Predictor Of Intertemporal Choice Behavior, Dylan Rutter

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Basic underlying mechanisms of discounting delayed rewards remain unclear (Green & Myerson, 2013). There has been evidence that attentional mechanisms (e.g., fixation and fixation duration) could be further investigate processes related to the discounting of delayed rewards (Franco-Watkins, Matteson, & Jackson, 2016). Franco-Watkins et al. (2016) was the first to propose a measure of attentional mechanisms in a discounting paradigm, known as selection bias. The authors found selection bias was positively correlated with choice behavior. The present study replicated selection bias using a titration procedure and Area Under the Curve scores. This study also analyzed selection bias across choice presentations …

Efficacy Of Technology-Based And In-Person Health Education For Behavior Change In College-Aged Women, Madeline Bremel

All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether an in-person or technology based bone health intervention improved bone health knowledge and behaviors in college-aged women. Methods: 30 college-aged women were randomly divided into three groups: personal intervention (n = 10), technological intervention (n = 10), and control (n = 10). Both intervention groups received identical information regarding the importance of bone health and the appropriate behaviors for maintaining strong bones including weight-bearing exercise, calcium consumption, and vitamin D consumption. The technology group received the information via an online video, and the personal group via a one-on-one …

The Effects Of Mass Shootings On Gun Sales, Elliot Chau

Economics Department Working Papers

The United States experiences mass shootings which cause the American public to respond in various ways. One measurable aspect is the demand for firearms following a shooting. Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System to proxy firearm sales, I create an ARMA model that estimates which characteristic of a mass shooting dictates the largest firearms purchase response. I find that President Obama’s tenure caused 210,000 more firearms sales per month. I also find that if the mass shooter was an internationally influenced terrorist, firearms sales increased by about 420,000 for the two-month period.

Are Prize-Linked Savings Accounts The Solution To Arkansas' Savings Problem?, Mckenzie Wages

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research finds that access to prize-linked savings could improve the financial security of Arkansans. Prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts are nontraditional savings products that offer depositors the chance to win cash prizes instead of a typical interest rate return. Given the low median incomes, high liquid asset poverty rates, and high levels of underbanked and undereducated individuals in Arkansas, there is a need for an innovative savings solution like PLS in the state. PLS accounts capitalize on individuals’ propensity for lottery-like risk-taking to inspire the productive behavior of personal saving. A wide range of individuals, especially those who could stand …

Income And Subjective Well-Being: Evidence From Singapore's First National Non-Contributory Pension, Yanying Chen, Yi Jin Tan

Research Collection School Of Economics

We use a new monthly panel and a difference-in-differences strategy to study the effects of an exogenous permanent income shock on subjective well-being along previously unexplored dimensions. This permanent income shock is the introduction of Singapore’s first national non-contributory pension, the Silver Support Scheme. The pension improved the life satisfaction of recipients, and appeared to be driven by social, household income, and economic satisfaction. Consistent with the predictions of standard consumption-savings models, well-being improved when the shock was unanticipated (at announcement), but did not improve significantly further when the shock was anticipated (at disbursement). In addition, we find evidence that …

Essays In Applied Microeconomics And Public Policy Evaluation, Yanying Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation comprises four papers that evaluate the effectiveness of public policies in Singapore. The first paper studies the non-tangible effect of a new non-contributory pension in Singapore on subjective well-being. The second investigates the effect of the same pension on labour supply, work expectations, private cash transfers and expenditure. The third evaluates a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a new transitional care programme in a large quaternary hospital, while the fourth examines the effect of a large-scale housing upgrading programme on the resale prices of upgraded flats.

Chapter 2 looks at the non-tangible effect of a new non-contributory pension …

Public-Private Partnerships: The Pro-Poor Gap Evaluation, Tung Nhu Nguyen

Asian Management Insights

Improving the future design and implementation of public-private partnerships.

Future For Children In Indonesia: On Walking Out Of Poverty, Jonathan Chang, Christopher Dula

Asian Management Insights

A social enterprise project that has brought income and dignity to a remote community in Indonesia.

A Study Into The Relationship Between Nutrition And Income In A College Setting, Alyssa Hicks

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Many health related issues in the United States are linked to Americans’ poor diet choices. College students, a subset of that population, establish important trends in their diet habits that they will maintain over their four years in college and beyond. Although previous literature has found income to be a determinant of diet, this paper does not find income to be a significant predictor of student nutrition. One potential explanation is that college provides a unique environment and circumstance. Yet, additional income suggests it could be important for students who suffer from a lack of funds—increasing their income brings about …

Essays In The Economics Of Health And Ageing, Yi Jin Tan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation consists of four papers in applied microeconomics / the economics of health and ageing that analyse the causal effect of public policies, or of events / issues amenable to policy intervention. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the papers in this dissertation.

Chapter 2 investigates whether a major and growing environmental disamenity – dengue fever – leads to protective behavior that increases residential electricity consumption. Being near a dengue cluster leads to a persistent increase in electricity consumption in 4-room and 5-room/bigger flats (by 1.7% and 1.1% respectively). In addition, electricity consumption rises discontinuously when a dengue cluster’s …

Exploitation And Social Reproduction In The Japanese Animation Industry, James Garrett

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Japanese animation, or ‘Anime’ is considered a unique creative cultural product that has become a global phenomenon, but little attention is paid to its industrial production process, the poor working conditions of domestic animators, and their position within the structure of labor organization in Japan. By analyzing research concerning the current stakeholders in the industry, historical conditions that led to the creation of television broadcast animation, overseas subcontracting networks, and the development of commercial fan cultures through Maurizio Lazzarato’s concept of Immaterial Labor, Michael Hardt’s concept of Affective Labor, Laikwan Pang’s concepts of the intensification of contradictory creative logics and …

Career: Location-Aware Social Science For Adaptation: Modeling Dynamic Patterns In Public Perceptions And Behavior, Peter D. Howe

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Gap Years On Academic Outcomes For Women: A Case Study From The Missionary Age Change, Margaret Marchant

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Young adults throughout the United States and other countries participate in “gap years,” or time away from school, often for travel, work, or volunteering. This practice is promoted as a way to mature and refocus. However, some worry that it lowers the likelihood of college completion. Previous literature has investigated the academic, social, and personal benefits of gap years with mixed results; however selection into gap years confounds the true impact with unobservable personal characteristics. To overcome selection issues, I exploit an exogenous policy change that lowered age requirements for missionary service, a unique type of gap year, resulting in …

Understanding The Racial/Ethnic Gap In Bank Account Ownership Among Older Adults, Luisa Blanco, Marco Angrisani, Emma Aguila, Mei Leng

School of Public Policy Working Papers

The observed racial/ethnic gap in bank account ownership among older adults is substantial. We investigate socio-economic, cognitive and cultural barriers underling it. As additional potential barriers are accounted for, the residual gaps in financial inclusion with respect to Whites is reduced by 19 percent for Blacks and 46 percent for Hispanics. We find that citizenship and “taste for privacy” play a limited role for both minority groups, while real asset ownership, health, cognitive ability and cultural hurdles contribute substantially to the gap. For Hispanics, language barriers explain most of the gap, while neighborhood-level socioeconomic characteristics are more salient for Blacks. …

Willingness To Pay Student Insurance As A Primary Plan Among Eastern Illinois University Students, George Anaman

2018 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity – Documents

Abstract

Selecting ideal health insurance coverage entails a trade-off between the gain from risk reduction and the deadweight loss from moral hazard (Manning and Marquis, 1996). This paper investigates students’ willingness to pay for student health insurance which will serve as a primary plan. Variables such as demographics, student insurance enrollment and coverage, student insurance utilization and satisfaction were used to assess students’ Willingness to pay for student insurance as a primary plan. Both qualitative and quantitative statistics were used to explain the willingness of students to pay for student insurance as a primary plan.

Anticipations With The Personal Savings Rate: An Outlook In The Us Economy Today, Rece Dawson, Michael Davidsson

Paper Presentations

The personal savings rate is identified as an average savings rate for the individual American. The current rate is 5.7%, and that means for every $100 of after tax income an American brings in, he or she saves 5.7% of it. Since the 1980’s Americans have been saving less and less possibly because there more comfortable with their wealth. Looking forward though we try to identify in an environment where the cost of living will be rising, and the interest rates will be rising, will Americans face fiscal troubles if they don’t start saving more now? One thing we can …

Gambling On Revenue, Kelsey Tallent, Michael Davidsson

Paper Presentations

My findings from my study have concluded that median age and subprime credit population were actually significant for every test when I thought they would be the least significant. If the evidence suggested is true Sedgwick county has a population that is focused on the younger population with higher credit scores when income is insignificant so this tells us that the college aged people with parents that have high credit scores are fueling casino revenue. Wyandotte county can be seen as the exact opposite because it is focused on the older population with higher income and higher credit scores. Ford …