Evidence increasingly points to the importance of reference-dependence in predicting consumer behavior. We utilize detailed data from penny auctions, which first appeared as an internet phenomenon in the late 2000's, to uncover how consumers' prior experiences predict their willingness to try a...

Recent policy discussions have debated whether governments should treat state-owned and private enterprises equally or adopt different policies towards each type of enterprise. Such questions are pertinent for difficult economic climates in which government subsidy towards struggling state-owned...

How can a government regulate an existing transportation monopoly based on features of the transport market and route structures? We analyze the government's regulatory problem from the perspective of two possible strategies: partially publicizing the existing monopolist, and entering the...

Although contests are recognized theoretically as a highly effective method of motivation, the competitive nature of contests may generate unintended negative effects on social interactions in more general settings beyond contests. Using a laboratory experiment of real effort tasks with...

We study the incentives of players to disclose information on their private valuations of the prize ahead of a rent-seeking contest. We show that information sharing can arise in equilibrium if types are concentrated enough, whereas sharing information is strictly dominated if types are...