The authors document the spatial concentration of more than 1,000 research and development (R&D) labs located in the Northeast corridor of the U.S. using point pattern methods. These methods allow systematic examination of clustering at different spatial scales. In particular, Monte Carlo tests...

We analyze the incidence and welfare effects of unit sales taxes in experimental monopoly and Bertrand markets. We find, in line with economic theory, that firms with no market power are able to shift a high share of a tax burden on to consumers, independent of whether buyers are automated or...

We study the impact of information manipulation by a principal on the agent’s effort. In a context of asymmetric information at the principal’s advantage, we test experimentally the principal’s willingness to bias (overestimate or under-estimate) the information she gives to her agent on...

CGD non-resident fellow Jenny Aker and co-authors report on the results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone education program (Project ABC) in Niger, in which adult students learned how to use mobile phones as part of a literacy and numeracy class. Overall, students demonstrated...

This paper advances the claim that ignoring relevant information is sometimes consistent with good decision making. Although that finding is not new, the argument presented here is. In contrast with bounded rationality models, the decision-making model in this paper presupposes no cognitive...

The effect of alternative property rights regimes on the choice between taking an object and acquiring it via consensual exchange is experimentally explored in a two-period screening model. Experimental treatments involving card game implementation yield results that are generally consistent...

Our cross-disciplinary team tackles the inconsistencies of gender teaching as seen from the perspective of law, business, and peace studies negotiation courses. In the process, we reconsider gender in the context of culture, demanding a forthright and coherent approach to topics now too often...

In this paper we test the effect of descriptive “features” on initial strategic behavior in normal form games, where “descriptive” are all those features that can be modified without altering the (Nash) equilibrium structure of a game. We observe that our experimental subjects behave...