In this doctoral thesis, I explore how vague behavioural or legal standards affect agents’ decision-making. In particular, I test the extent to which agents engage in defensive behaviour in order to signal a professional qualification or in the face of vague legal standards. I measure...

This volume was prepared by Simon Wiederhold during his stay at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena and at the Duke University in Durham, U.S. It was accepted as a doctoral thesis by the School of Economics and Business Administration at the University of Jena in August 2011. The thesis...

The current doctoral thesis is comprised of three distinct papers with a unifying theme of studying human behavior in strategic environments of incomplete information. Each paper considers a particular manifestation of information guiding, shaping or in some other way, affecting human behavior...

Pro-social and ethical behavior primarily understood as the ability to sacrifice ones own interest to the benefit of others leads to welfare improvements and social progress, whereas anti-social and unethical actions result in irrevocable welfare losses and destruction. This dissertation...