Using behavioural economic insights to overcome student procrastination. This project aims to study the relations between present-biased time preference, procrastination, and achievement at school, using economic experiments. Investment in human capital generates economic benefits for students, families, employers, and society, but its benefits are realised far into the future. Because of these immediate costs and delayed benefits, behavioural economic theory predicts that students will procrast ....Using behavioural economic insights to overcome student procrastination. This project aims to study the relations between present-biased time preference, procrastination, and achievement at school, using economic experiments. Investment in human capital generates economic benefits for students, families, employers, and society, but its benefits are realised far into the future. Because of these immediate costs and delayed benefits, behavioural economic theory predicts that students will procrastinate. This project will identify the characteristics of students at greatest risk of procrastination, evaluate practical strategies to overcome it, and examine whether it is associated with poorer outcomes. This should help schools and policy makers reduce educational inequalities, and yield long-term benefits over students’ lives.Read moreRead less
The rise of mistrust: Digital platforms and trust in news media. This project aims to investigate how trust and mistrust in news changes audiences’ behaviours as they increasingly access news through digital platforms. Observing the global crisis of trust, the project will undertake a longitudinal analysis of trust and mistrust in news, a four-country experiment that links trust and audience responses, and an in-depth qualitative study that provides specific contexts of these choices. The resear ....The rise of mistrust: Digital platforms and trust in news media. This project aims to investigate how trust and mistrust in news changes audiences’ behaviours as they increasingly access news through digital platforms. Observing the global crisis of trust, the project will undertake a longitudinal analysis of trust and mistrust in news, a four-country experiment that links trust and audience responses, and an in-depth qualitative study that provides specific contexts of these choices. The research will directly benefit policy makers, as it addresses questions of how to better secure trustworthy news content in an age of increasing dominance of digital platforms that algorithmically sort the range of news available to the Australian public.
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Honesty and efficiency in the provision of expert services: doctors and other experts as participants in economic experiments. Experts serve us when we see the doctor, the financial planner or the car mechanic. In all these case the expert can take advantage of his superior knowledge and sell us something we do not need. This research will inform policy makers about the underlying motives of real world experts and allow them to design better institutions.
Incentivizing Attendance and Performance at School: A Field Experiment. This project aims to develop and evaluate an incentive-based program to increase the school attendance and performance of Indigenous students to help alleviate current inequalities between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Only 43 per cent of Indigenous Australians graduate from high school compared to 78 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians. The study plans to investigate whether high value rewards (e.g. driving ....Incentivizing Attendance and Performance at School: A Field Experiment. This project aims to develop and evaluate an incentive-based program to increase the school attendance and performance of Indigenous students to help alleviate current inequalities between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Only 43 per cent of Indigenous Australians graduate from high school compared to 78 per cent for non-Indigenous Australians. The study plans to investigate whether high value rewards (e.g. driving licence instruction) are effective in incentivising year 11 and 12 students. It also aims to examine whether the way incentives are provided — ex-post as traditionally done or ex-ante in the form of a trust-based contract — increase high school completion rates of Indigenous students where previous incentive schemes have failed.Read moreRead less
The role of moral sentiments and emotions in human nature: an interdisciplinary empirical approach. This project investigates the effects of moral sentiments and emotions on decision processes. It will identify states of physiological arousal, determine whether a significant genetic effect is present, assess the relevance of individuals' environment and inherited values, and provide a better biological micro-foundation for human behaviour.
Financial decision making in late adulthood. The project aims to examine links between cognitive changes and financial decision-making in late adulthood and also to assess the preparedness of the elderly to combat financial risks due to age-related cognitive decline. Further, it intends to examine how age, education, wealth, health, and other environmental factors influence transfer of financial decision-making responsibilities to spouses or others. It is expected that the research will provide ....Financial decision making in late adulthood. The project aims to examine links between cognitive changes and financial decision-making in late adulthood and also to assess the preparedness of the elderly to combat financial risks due to age-related cognitive decline. Further, it intends to examine how age, education, wealth, health, and other environmental factors influence transfer of financial decision-making responsibilities to spouses or others. It is expected that the research will provide a greater understanding of how cognitive functioning and other factors affect older adults’ financial capacity and willingness to delegate decision-making responsibilities. This understanding could be used to inform policy initiatives to protect elderly individuals and their family members from the risk of financial mismanagement.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental ....Designing for uncertainty in conservation auctions. Economic theory and case study evidence show that tenders or auctions are more efficient than grant mechanisms for encouraging landholders to produce environmental outcomes on private land. These studies have ignored the effects of uncertainty of both bidders and administrators about factors such as landholder participation and the level of environmental benefits that will be delivered. This project will test whether distributing environmental funds via tenders is still efficient when uncertainty about various important factors is considered. Results from this research are expected to inform the cost effective design of systems to pay landholders for the provision of environmental benefits even when there is high uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101242
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$358,000.00
Summary
Market responses to behavioral consumer policy: Experimental study. This project aims to investigate the effectiveness of regulatory policies such as industry standards, optimal defaults and third-party comparison services in supporting consumer decision-making. In complex market environments, consumers often struggle to make good purchasing decisions and can be vulnerable to exploitation by firms. Understanding how regulatory consumer policy directly affects consumer decisions and the dynamic s ....Market responses to behavioral consumer policy: Experimental study. This project aims to investigate the effectiveness of regulatory policies such as industry standards, optimal defaults and third-party comparison services in supporting consumer decision-making. In complex market environments, consumers often struggle to make good purchasing decisions and can be vulnerable to exploitation by firms. Understanding how regulatory consumer policy directly affects consumer decisions and the dynamic strategies of participating firms is important to improve our markets, inform consumer policy and provide evidence-based policy recommendations. This is particularly important in the increasingly complex market domains such as health, insurance and household finance.Read moreRead less
Scientist career path: An explorative analysis. This project aims to uncover important insights into scientists, their interactions, and their career dynamics, seeking to understand scientific success and scientific innovations by understanding scientists themselves. The project will generate the largest data set on scientists ever collected and analysed, resulting in new knowledge into the mechanisms underlying scientific progress and innovation; scientists’ resilience and adaptation to positiv ....Scientist career path: An explorative analysis. This project aims to uncover important insights into scientists, their interactions, and their career dynamics, seeking to understand scientific success and scientific innovations by understanding scientists themselves. The project will generate the largest data set on scientists ever collected and analysed, resulting in new knowledge into the mechanisms underlying scientific progress and innovation; scientists’ resilience and adaptation to positive and negative life shocks or environmental changes; their pattern of collaboration and cooperation; and their creative development. The project will provide significant benefits to universities and policy makers in fulfilling their role of creating and disseminating new knowledge.Read moreRead less