{"title":"Selective exposure reduces voluntary contributions: Experimental evidence from the German Internet Panel","authors":"Federico Innocenti, Linnéa Marie Rohde","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107081","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107081","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Can strategic information acquisition harm the provision of a public good? We investigate this question in an incentivized online experiment with a large sample of the German population. The marginal returns of the public good are uncertain: it is either socially efficient to contribute or not. In the information treatment, participants can choose between two information sources with opposite biases: one source is more likely to report low marginal returns, whereas the other is more likely to report high marginal returns. We find that information avoidance is a minor phenomenon. Most participants select the source biased towards reporting low marginal returns, independent of their prior beliefs. As a result, the information treatment reduces contributions and increases free-riding. We find that social preferences guide information acquisition: selfish participants are less likely to acquire information, and if they acquire information, they are more likely to select the source biased towards reporting high marginal returns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107081"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144230022","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}
Sung-Lin Hsieh , Shaowei Ke , Zhaoran Wang , Chen Zhao
{"title":"Logit neural-network utility","authors":"Sung-Lin Hsieh , Shaowei Ke , Zhaoran Wang , Chen Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107054","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107054","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We introduce stochastic choice models that feature neural networks, one of which is called the logit neural-network utility (NU) model. We show how to use simple neurons, referred to as behavioral neurons, to capture behavioral effects, such as the certainty effect and reference dependence. We find that simple logit NU models with natural interpretation provide better out-of-sample predictions than expected utility theory and cumulative prospect theory, especially for choice problems that involve lotteries with both positive and negative prizes. We also find that the use of behavioral neurons mitigates overfitting and significantly improves our models’ performance, consistent with numerous successes in introducing useful inductive biases in the machine-learning literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107054"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144222921","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}
Fabienne Jedelhauser, Raphael Flepp, Pascal Flurin Meier, Egon Franck
{"title":"Does performance pressure accentuate outcome bias? Evidence from managerial dismissals","authors":"Fabienne Jedelhauser, Raphael Flepp, Pascal Flurin Meier, Egon Franck","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107086","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107086","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Outcome bias refers to the tendency to consider observed outcomes inappropriately in evaluations, such that the influence of luck is underestimated. However, observed outcomes that fall short of expectations simultaneously trigger performance pressure. We argue that performance pressure reinforces outcome bias in evaluation decisions such as managerial dismissals, particularly after bad luck. Using data from European football and a novel identification strategy, we investigate whether managerial dismissal decisions are influenced by luck operationalized as opponent player injuries and whether this influence is more pronounced under performance pressure. Our findings reveal that luck significantly impacts dismissal decisions, particularly as performance pressure increases. Importantly, this amplified outcome bias under performance pressure predominantly occurs in instances of bad luck. These results suggest that the extent of outcome bias has been underappreciated, especially in situations involving bad luck and performance pressure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107086"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144230021","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 gift of giving: Recognizing donors and revealing donation amounts","authors":"K. Pun Winichakul","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107080","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Publicly announcing how much individuals donate on behalf of themselves is a common fundraising strategy. For tribute gifts made on behalf of others, however, many charities only reveal donor identities to the honoree with few revealing the size of their contributions. This paper examines the fundraising consequences of recognizing donors with and without information about donation amounts when notifying honorees of gifts made on their behalf. I find that revealing contribution amounts in addition to recognizing donors benefits fundraisers. I find that both the likelihood of giving and size of contributions made on behalf of others increase when honorees learn how much donors give. Results from a survey with fundraising professionals show that practitioners believe revealing the size of these gifts may be repugnant, and overestimate the share of donors who prefer to keep gift amounts private. Holding these inaccurate beliefs may lead fundraisers to leave tribute donations on the table.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107080"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144223002","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":"Household income expectations: The role of unexpected income changes and aggregate conditions","authors":"Alessandro Bucciol , Joshy Easaw , Serena Trucchi","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107064","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107064","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We analyse how unexpected income changes and aggregate conditions influence income expectations, their uncertainty, and expectation errors. We use a uniquely rich longitudinal Dutch survey collecting detailed information on the distribution of household income expectations. Our results show that unexpected income changes, much more than aggregate conditions, induce a revision in income expectations across the entire spectrum of the expected income distribution, consistent with extrapolative behaviour. We also document that unexpected income changes increase the uncertainty about future income. Our results provide some evidence of over-reaction, particularly to negative unexpected income changes and among high-income individuals. These effects differ based on an individual’s position in the income distribution, which may be attributed to differences in income dynamics, role of insurance mechanisms, and varying levels of awareness about how unexpected income changes and aggregate conditions impact household finances.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107064"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144222919","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":"Do greater sanctions deter youth crime? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design","authors":"Nicholas Lovett, Yuhan Xue","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We exploit the discontinuous jump in criminal sanctions at the age of majority in conjunction with administrative data from California to generate regression discontinuity estimates of the deterrent effect. Estimates show that the greater severity imposed upon adolescents at age 18 deters violent crime by 10%–12%. Results are robust to multiple techniques and specifications. Using these results, we estimate an elasticity of crime with respect to sanction intensity that ranges from -0.145 to -0.174. We extend our results to demographic sub-populations and find female offenders, as well as white and Asian offenders, are relatively more responsive to sanctions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107083"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144222920","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}
David M. McEvoy , Matthew McGinty , David Campoverde , Todd L. Cherry
{"title":"Providing global public goods using monetary deposits: Theory and experiments","authors":"David M. McEvoy , Matthew McGinty , David Campoverde , Todd L. Cherry","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107066","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Effective international environmental agreements (IEAs) require both meaningful participation and compliance. Most game-theoretic models of IEAs concentrate on the participation decision while assuming full compliance by the members, even when compliance is not an individual best-response. We take a different approach and model an IEA in which the members are free to deviate from their commitments. After demonstrating the need for enforcement, we introduce an institution in which members pay financial deposits that are refunded provided that members satisfy their abatement commitments. We show that in theory, the deposit-refund system can motivate full compliance and lead to more effective IEAs. We then test the theoretical implications using controlled laboratory experiments. We empirically compare the performance of IEAs with mandatory compliance (standard IEA from literature), voluntary compliance and the deposit-refund mechanism. Our empirical results largely support the theoretical predictions — most members violate their agreement without an enforcement mechanism, and IEAs utilizing a deposit-refund can effectively enhance cooperation to provide public goods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107066"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144204777","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}
Yibing Wang , Tarik Driouchi , Duc Duy (Louis) Nguyen
{"title":"Parental death in childhood and stock market participation: Cross-cultural insights","authors":"Yibing Wang , Tarik Driouchi , Duc Duy (Louis) Nguyen","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines cross-country differences in the relationship between traumatic experience in childhood and household stock market participation. We find that US households that experience the death of a parent during childhood are less likely to participate in the stock market. Conversely, experiencing parental death in childhood does not affect stockholdings in China. Further analyses show that the results can be partially explained by the cultural differences between the two countries. Specifically, due to China’s emphasis on collectivistic values, Chinese bereaved children are less sensitive to traumatic experience and more likely to receive financial support from in-group members that can “cushion” the adverse impact of parental death. We obtain similar conclusions out-of-sample when extending the analyses to Korean versus English households as well as to other European countries. Overall, our paper highlights novel interactions between personal experience and the cultural environment in shaping financial decision-making behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107078"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144212664","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":"Avoiding catastrophic climate change: Heterogeneous abatement costs and voting on redistribution in a threshold public good experiment","authors":"Matthias Greiff , Karol Kempa","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107067","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107067","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Achieving the goal of limiting global warming is challenging, as it requires national contributions, whereas the benefits are shared between contributors and free-riders. We model this global climate problem as a collective-risk social dilemma (CRSD), a threshold public good game, and analyse the effectiveness of a frequently discussed instrument of global climate policy, namely climate-related transfers. Our CRSD experiment captures the incentive structure inherent in the social dilemma of global emission reductions, i.e., the heterogeneous distribution of wealth and marginal abatement costs (MAC). We find that introducing the option to vote on transfers for rich subjects increases the likelihood of reaching the threshold within the CRSD. A key mechanism is the shift of contributions from rich high-MAC subjects to poor low-MAC subjects, which reduces the costs of reaching the threshold. As a result, overall welfare is higher with redistribution and both rich and poor subjects benefit in terms of higher payoffs. Additional treatments show that the results are not driven by reciprocity or self-selection and that non-climate-related transfers may be similarly effective in increasing the likelihood of reaching the threshold, but less cost efficient. Our findings highlight the importance of climate-related transfers for limiting global warming at least cost to society.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"236 ","pages":"Article 107067"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144194802","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}
Jonathan H.W. Tan , Zichen Zhao , Daniel John Zizzo
{"title":"Inference from field and laboratory experiments in economics: empirical evidence","authors":"Jonathan H.W. Tan , Zichen Zhao , Daniel John Zizzo","doi":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107055","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Experimental economics publications test and make claims that are based on inferences from the experimental datasets they are based on. We ask whether the environment that the authors make claims about matches the actual environment that exists in their data. We answer this question by employing a sample of 520 publications in 2018 and 2019 at leading general and field journals in Economics to test. This is important as out-of-domain inference may (or may not) lead to issues of over-generalization. We study inferences made in different types of field and laboratory experiments. The average match rates are 11 % for laboratory experiments and 39 % for field experiments on aggregate. Around four out of five field experiments fail to match in at least three out of the five domains, as with almost all laboratory experiments. We conclude that out-of-domain inference applies to the majority of field and laboratory experiments. Policy testing experiments have a higher match rate. Further, we find that publications by top 20 institutions authors or with experiments conducted in majority White countries are more likely to generalize out-of-domain; specifically, there appears to be an institutional bias tied to the country of the experiment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48409,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization","volume":"235 ","pages":"Article 107055"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144190093","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}