It is now well documented that individuals tend to change their behavior when their actions are observed by others. Yet there is no systematic way of measuring this dimension of preferences at the individual level. In this paper, we propose a novel experimental game to measure individual...

We study how cooperation-enforcing institutions dynamically affect values and behavior using a lab experiment designed to create individual specific histories of past institutional exposure. We show that the effect of past institutions is mostly due to “indirect” behavioral spillovers:...

In this paper, we show that sentencing norms vary widely even across geographically close units. By examining North Carolina's unique judicial rotation system, we show that judges arriving in a new court gradually converge to local sentencing norms. We document factors that facilitate this...

Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of lawyers in the U.S., we document a sizeable gap between men and women in their early aspirations to become law firm partners, despite similar early investments and educational characteristics. This aspiration gap can explain a large part...

How do radical reforms of the state shape economic development over time? In 1790, France’s firstConstituent Assembly overhauled the kingdom’s organization to set up new administrative entitiesand local capitals. In a subset of departments, new capitals were chosen quasi-randomly as the...