Principal-agent relationships are typically assumed to be motivated by efficiency gains from comparative advantage. However, principals may also delegate tasks to avoid taking direct responsibility for selfish or unethical behavior. We report three laboratory experiments in which principals...

We review evidence from our published and ongoing research that disclosing conflicts of interest has unintended consequences, helping conflicted advisors and harming their advisees: With disclosure, advisors feel comfortable giving more biased advice, but advisees do not properly adjust for this...

We surveyed 971 individuals about their experiences with personal loans. Beyond the objective characteristics of the loans (e.g., whether interest was charged), and the purpose of the loan, we tested – and found support for – two main predictions: (1) at recall and evaluation of loans would...

Recent research has documented an 'endowment effect' whereby people become more attached to objects they receive than would be predicted from their prior desire to possess the object. In two experiments, the authors test whether people are aware of the effect--whether they realize that they will...

Based on contrast effects studies from psychology, we predicted that movers arriving from more expensive cities would rent pricier apartments than those arriving from cheaper cities. We also predicted that as people stayed in their new city they would get used to the new prices and would...

The economic conception of human behavior assumes that a person has a single set of well-defined goals, and that the person's behavior is chosen to best achieve those goals. We develop a model in which a person's behavior is the outcome of an interaction between two systems: a deliberative...

In this paper we draw attention to an important motive – the desire for meaning – that drive considerable human behavior and economic activity, but has been largely ignored by economists. We distinguish four interpretations of meaning that differ in the degree to which they are amenable to...