How does ambiguity affect trade between a price-setting seller and an ambiguity-sensitive buyer? We find that the right kind of ambiguous information makes both the buyer and seller better off than any possible unambiguous information.
How ancient history shapes economic decision-making: Our 116-country study reveals that ancestral distance systematically drives preference heterogeneity, showing that modern risk and time preferences are rooted in cultural patterns transmitted over thousands of years.
Why cash makes us more selfish: Our new experiment shows that knowing the real-world dollar value of earnings triggers more self-serving judgements than abstract points or tokens, even when the actual split remains exactly the same.
Why labor markets underprovide benefits despite high worker demand: Our model shows that treating benefits as hidden "experience goods" systematically induces inefficiently low coverage and compressed wage gaps, masking the true extent of compensation inequality.
How students leverage self-delusion to beat procrastination: Our new field study shows that university students strategically inflate their believed returns to effort by 20% as exams approach, proving that biased beliefs function as an instrumental tool for self-control.
@klaus-m-schmidt.bsky.social
Yesterday, we concluded our 18th CRC Retreat in Schwanenwerder. Three wonderful days of reseach collaboration and scientific exchange.
How competitive neutrality falls short: Our causal analysis reveals that state ownership systematically induces preferential treatment for public hospitals over private ones, a bias that becomes significantly more acute under the pressure of upcoming elections.
How "Amazon’s Choice" badges steer choice: We show that they drive engagement despite competing signals, yet disproportionately favors platform-sold products. Crucially, this boost persists after the badge is removed, potentially reinforcing long-term market advantages.
Why incentive-compatibility isn't enough for data quality: Our new online experiment shows that popular belief elicitation methods like BSR and BDM fail to outperform simple, unincentivized introspection.