We investigate experimentally whether social learners appreciate the redundancy of information conveyed by their observed predecessors' actions. Each participant observes a private signal and enters an estimate of the sum of all earlier-moving participants' signals plus her own. In a first...

We investigate experimentally whether social learners appreciate the redundancy of information conveyed by the behavior of those they observe. Each experimental participant observes a private signal and enters an estimate of the sum of all earlier-moving participants' signals plus her own. In a...

We consider bargaining in a bipartite network of buyers and sellers, who can only trade with the limited number of people with whom they are connected. Such networks could arise due to proximity issues or restricted communication flows, as with information transmission of job openings, business...

The canonical model of life-cycle labor supply predicts a positive response of labor supplied to transitory wage changes. We tested this prediction by conducting a randomized field experiment with bicycle messengers. In contrast to previous studies we can observe in which way working hours as...

The population of most developed societies is ‘graying’. As life expectancy increases and thelarge baby-boom generation approaches retirement age, this has critical consequences formaintaining a high standard of living and the sustainability of pension systems. In the light ofthese labor-force...

Preference for control affects investment behavior. Participants of laboratory experiments invest different amount of money in a risky asset when face with two different methods of control which have identical payoff structure and probability distribution, but provide different sense of control....

Partnering with a savings product provider in Kenya, we tested the extent to which behavioral interventions and financial incentives can increase the saving rate of individuals with low and irregular income. Our experiment lasted for six months and included a total of twelve conditions. The...

Traditionally, models of economic decision-making assume that individuals are rational and emotionless. This chapter argues that the neglect of emotion in economic models explains their inability to predict important aspects of the labor market. We focus on one example: the scarcity of nominal...

Optimal portfolio theory depends upon a sophisticated understanding of the correlation among financial assets. In this paper, we examine people's understanding of correlation using portfolio-allocation problems and find it to be strongly imperfect. Our experiment uses pairs of problems having...

Experimental economics originated as examination of the behavior of aggregate phenomena, especially markets, populated by human participants motivated by their desire to attain their goals. The past two decades have brought two newer trends. One is a gradual but steady shift in the focus of the...