{"title":"Composition of peer mothers and gender norms: Class randomization and short-run effects","authors":"Liwen Chen , Bobby W. Chung , Guanghua Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107008","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Increased exposure to gender-role information affects a girl’s educational performance. Leveraging the classroom randomization in Chinese middle schools, we find that the increased presence of peers’ working mothers significantly enhances a girl’s performance in mathematics. The exposure also reduces gendered attitudes toward mathematics and future careers. Long exposure and a distant parent–daughter relationship enhance peer mothers’ influences. As falsification tests against unobserved confounding factors, we find that exposure to peers’ working mothers does not affect boys’ outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107008"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anti-corruption and political trust: Evidence from China","authors":"Ming Fang , Weizheng Lai , Congling Xia","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>How can anti-corruption efforts influence political trust in government? We investigate this question through the lens of China’s recent anti-corruption campaign, launched in 2013, which has disclosed many corruption investigations to the public for the first time. By analyzing a large individual panel dataset, we show that, on average, the campaign has reduced political trust, particularly among groups less informed about corruption before the campaign. We document strong heterogeneity in changes in political trust, possibly driven by prior political attitudes, as captured by previous unpleasant experiences with the government, pro-government indoctrination, and Confucian norms. Our results fit a model in which polarization is rationalized by different priors about the government. We also rule out several alternative explanations for our findings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107015"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143860576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Automation, education, and population: Dynamic effects in an OLG growth and fertility model","authors":"Catarina Peralta , Pedro Mazeda Gil","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We address two main structural changes occurring in developed countries: the rise of automation and population ageing. Using an R&D-based growth model under an OLG framework, we consider education and fertility decisions, as well as automation in the production process, to explore the interplay between population ageing and automation. The results reveal dynamics that align with the US trends from 1970 to 2021. In particular, in response to increasing real wages, the model captures a decline in the fertility rate for low-skilled workers but an increase for high-skilled workers, consistent with observed data. We also analyze the model’s response to shocks related to automation and demographics (fertility vs. longevity), as well as policy instruments designed to reduce inequality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107002"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855430","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is it advantageous to be first? Evidence from a TV comedy program","authors":"Real Arai , Ryosuke Okazawa","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using unique data from contests in a Japanese comedy TV show, we estimate the impact of position order on performance evaluations. By exploiting the fact that positions in the contest are randomly determined by lottery, we estimate the effect of position order and find that the first position is favorable in the contest. One interpretation of these results is that the first performance is more likely to receive a default evaluation, which may be advantageous in less competitive contests where there are many winners relative to the number of participants. We present evidence that is consistent with this interpretation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107009"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143855429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Being the best or being the only one – Dichotomous R&D strategy choices by startups aiming for acquisition","authors":"Joachim Henkel , Thomas Rønde","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We characterize optimal R&D strategies in a model where an incumbent and a startup with no possibility to enter the market choose both investment level and radicalness of their R&D projects. The incumbent commercializes the most valuable project, and, where necessary, acquires the startup. The startup has two locally optimal strategies: A “high quality” and a “low cost” strategy where it aims for having the most valuable and the only successful R&D project, respectively. The struggle for rents inside the innovation system results in an inefficient portfolio of projects compared to the R&D choices that a monopolist would make.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107024"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of bundling index insurance with credit and input vouchers: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia","authors":"Temesgen K. Belissa , Robert Lensink , Ana Marr","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107013","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study assesses the uptake and impact of bundling index insurance with credit and input vouchers through a randomized control trial experiment. Smallholder farmers in Ethiopia are randomly assigned to a control group and three treatment arms, namely: (1) stand-alone index insurance with upfront premium payment, (2) stand-alone index insurance with delayed premium payment, (3) bundled index insurance with credit and delayed premium payment, or (4) bundled index insurance with credit and input vouchers with delayed premium payment. Distinguishing itself from previous studies, our research specifically isolates the impact of bundling from that of delayed premiums. The results highlight the crucial role of the bundled aspect (i.e., credit and inputs), not only in increasing uptake but also in fostering farming investments and productivity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107013"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848012","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Timo Freyer , Jonas Radbruch , Sebastian Schaube , Louis Strang
{"title":"The effect of task (mis)matching and self-selection on intrinsic motivation and performance","authors":"Timo Freyer , Jonas Radbruch , Sebastian Schaube , Louis Strang","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107010","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107010","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates how the self-selection of tasks affects worker performance. Specifically, it investigates the impact of aligning tasks with workers’ preferences and the effect of providing workers with greater autonomy in choosing their tasks. To answer these questions, we conducted an online experiment in which participants engaged in one of two real-effort tasks. We exogenously varied whether participants were either randomly assigned their preferred or non-preferred task, or if they had the opportunity to actively self-select their task. The results show that participants who were randomly assigned their preferred task or self-selected a task increased their output by about 25%–42% of a standard deviation compared to those who were assigned their non-preferred task. This increase in output is linked to both enhanced productivity and extended time spent working on the task. In essence, our results underscore that workers’ performance depends crucially on whether they work on their preferred task. Importantly, our results also document that granting workers decision autonomy in task selection reinforces the performance increase.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107010"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingxian Zou , Yinghao Pan , Fangyu Shu , Miao Jin
{"title":"Public attention, political ties and digital transformation of private enterprises: Evidence from the Hurun Rich List in China","authors":"Jingxian Zou , Yinghao Pan , Fangyu Shu , Miao Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107030","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107030","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper investigates how public attention affects digital transformation in Chinese private enterprises through the lens of the <em>Hurun Rich List</em>, a prominent ranking of China's wealthiest individuals. Using difference-in-differences analysis of publicly listed firms from 2011 to 2021, we find that companies whose controllers appear on the rich list significantly increase their digital transformation efforts by 0.581 units (1.6 % relative to sample mean). This effect is economically meaningful, equivalent to 42 % of the impact from a one standard deviation increase in firm size. The digital transformation response is stronger for firms lacking political connections, as enhanced visibility motivates innovation among these firms. In contrast, politically connected firms show minimal transformation improvements despite facing increased regulatory scrutiny, suggesting they neither leverage their connections for protection nor accelerate digital initiatives following public recognition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107030"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143844413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Catharina Janz, Rainer Michael Rilke, B. Burcin Yurtoglu
{"title":"Does ESG information impact individual investors’ portfolio choices?","authors":"Catharina Janz, Rainer Michael Rilke, B. Burcin Yurtoglu","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We use an online asset market experiment to study whether ESG information affects the portfolio choices of retail investors. We find a significantly higher portfolio allocation to stocks with ESG information in the order of 14 percentage points compared to a control group where no ESG information is released. ESG information impacts retail investors regardless of its association with one of its components (Environment, Social or Governance) and degree of detail. In contrast to survey-based evidence on the importance of socio-demographic characteristics and personal traits, our results provide very limited evidence that such characteristics meaningfully correlate with portfolio reallocations in response to ESG information.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107007"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143844412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eric Cardella , Zachary Keeler , Bradley T. Ewing , Daan Liang
{"title":"Small business recovery and resilience in the aftermath of hurricane Harvey","authors":"Eric Cardella , Zachary Keeler , Bradley T. Ewing , Daan Liang","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107029","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There is a converging consensus among the scientific community that tropical storm activity will continue to increase in severity, at least in part due to evolving climate change. Given the destructive nature of these tropical storms, it remains of utmost importance how to increase the resiliency and sustainability of communities in hurricane-prone areas. Using detailed data from a large-scale, firm-level survey post-Hurricane Harvey, we identify possible indicators/drivers of recovery and resiliency of small businesses, which are often the lifeblood of local communities. Our descriptive analysis suggests linkages between firm characteristics, financial and operational strategies, access to credit, mitigation actions, damages, and recovery trajectories. Overall, this study provides valuable insight into the role of small businesses in resilience planning and recovery improvement following severe hurricanes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 107029"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838942","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}