Time Delay, Externalities and Attitudes Toward Taxation. Public attitudes toward a policy have a significant impact on its effectiveness. The aim of this project is to investigate the determinants of public attitudes for incentive-based institutions, particularly taxes, by highlighting the importance of considering the intertemporal properties of taxation: when costs and benefits of taxation occur at different times. This project is designed to be a controlled study of how and why public attitud ....Time Delay, Externalities and Attitudes Toward Taxation. Public attitudes toward a policy have a significant impact on its effectiveness. The aim of this project is to investigate the determinants of public attitudes for incentive-based institutions, particularly taxes, by highlighting the importance of considering the intertemporal properties of taxation: when costs and benefits of taxation occur at different times. This project is designed to be a controlled study of how and why public attitudes towards taxation are influenced by the temporal structure of the externalities that the taxes are meant to control. The anticipated goal is to inform the design of institutions that the public will accept and, more generally, improve the understanding of intertemporal decision-making in environments with delayed externalities.Read moreRead less
Posted prices, bargaining and auctions: an experimental examination. This project uses economic methods to investigate how trading institutions affect prices and efficiency. It examines markets with directed search: buyers visit sellers based on any information they have. Simultaneous buyer choices and sellers’ capacity constraints lead to “frictions” where not all profitable exchanges occur - more realistic than the usual “frictionless” assumption. The project will vary: whether sellers can pos ....Posted prices, bargaining and auctions: an experimental examination. This project uses economic methods to investigate how trading institutions affect prices and efficiency. It examines markets with directed search: buyers visit sellers based on any information they have. Simultaneous buyer choices and sellers’ capacity constraints lead to “frictions” where not all profitable exchanges occur - more realistic than the usual “frictionless” assumption. The project will vary: whether sellers can post prices in advance; and, whether and how negotiation occurs based on how many buyers (one vs two or more) visit a seller. The project will use results from auction, bargaining, game and search theories, and new analysis, to form predictions, which will be tested using experiments. The results should have implications for labour and competition policies.Read moreRead less
The effect of bargaining power on bargaining outcomes: the roles of institutions, earned bargaining position and social norms. Previous research has found that people exploit their bargaining power far less than economic theories predict. This project uses an economics experiment to study several factors affecting how bargaining power is used: restrictions on the bargaining process; whether and how bargaining power is 'earned' and whether equal divisions are plausible.
Multidisciplinary analysis of financial reference points and wellbeing. The aim is to find how to improve financial decisions (i) during unexpected economic shocks, and (ii) by the socially disadvantaged. The project will produce the first large-scale evidence on heterogeneity in benchmarks (reference points) against which people evaluate financial alternatives and the role of such benchmarks in financial risk-taking and in creating and perpetuating economic inequality. The expected outcomes inc ....Multidisciplinary analysis of financial reference points and wellbeing. The aim is to find how to improve financial decisions (i) during unexpected economic shocks, and (ii) by the socially disadvantaged. The project will produce the first large-scale evidence on heterogeneity in benchmarks (reference points) against which people evaluate financial alternatives and the role of such benchmarks in financial risk-taking and in creating and perpetuating economic inequality. The expected outcomes include transformed interdisciplinary understanding of financial decisions and significantly greater capacity for multidisciplinary collaboration. The findings will inform policy on promoting financial wellbeing and to mitigate the devastating effects of sudden economic shocks such as that of COVID-19.Read moreRead less
Are claims of transparency to be believed? This project tests if leaders, when given a choice, actually reveal a preference for transparency (that is to share all relevant information with their followers). This project analyses the circumstances under which leaders choose transparency and how their decisions and their reputations for transparency affect followers' behaviour and overall group cooperation.
The Economics of Envy. Envy is persistent and universal. It may help explain why humans are relatively less hierarchical than other primate species and prone to egalitarianism. Envy may help explain the formation of political and social structures and taxation and redistribution policies. This project will examine how in-group and out-group bias, social/economic mobility, and luck versus ability exacerbate and mitigate social preference and when these factors result in destructive and/or constru ....The Economics of Envy. Envy is persistent and universal. It may help explain why humans are relatively less hierarchical than other primate species and prone to egalitarianism. Envy may help explain the formation of political and social structures and taxation and redistribution policies. This project will examine how in-group and out-group bias, social/economic mobility, and luck versus ability exacerbate and mitigate social preference and when these factors result in destructive and/or constructive envy. This investigation contributes to the understanding of envy and its behavioural manifestations. Understanding the correlates of social preferences and the resulting behaviour is important for developing policy to reduce destructive envy and encourage constructive envy. Read moreRead less
An economic study of charitable giving. This project aims to study the motivations for charitable giving and helping behaviour and how these motivations interact with external factors under different institutions.Recent data from 2015 show that charitable donations in Australia have fallen to a 30-year low. Although real GDP has increased, inequality has risen. Social norms and perceptions relating to disadvantaged people can influence donor motivations. The anticipated goal is to design initiat ....An economic study of charitable giving. This project aims to study the motivations for charitable giving and helping behaviour and how these motivations interact with external factors under different institutions.Recent data from 2015 show that charitable donations in Australia have fallen to a 30-year low. Although real GDP has increased, inequality has risen. Social norms and perceptions relating to disadvantaged people can influence donor motivations. The anticipated goal is to design initiatives that influence prosocial activities such as charitable giving, redistribution, refugee intake and migrant integration, and improve understanding of the underlying mechanisms of prosocial behaviour.Read moreRead less
Changing Institutions to Mitigate Gender Leadership Gaps: Power of Defaults. This project aims to improve diversity in organisations by investigating a simple yet novel institutional change that can increase women’s participation in leadership. This involves a change in the default used for leadership selection, from an opt-in to an opt-out mechanism. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of diversity and inclusion by showing how appropriate choice of defaults can reduce lab ....Changing Institutions to Mitigate Gender Leadership Gaps: Power of Defaults. This project aims to improve diversity in organisations by investigating a simple yet novel institutional change that can increase women’s participation in leadership. This involves a change in the default used for leadership selection, from an opt-in to an opt-out mechanism. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of diversity and inclusion by showing how appropriate choice of defaults can reduce labour market gaps and inequality. Expected outcomes include understanding mechanisms underlying the gender default effect both in the short and long run which will help identify appropriate interventions that can be scaled up. Insights gained should provide significant benefits by improving workplace diversity and productivity.Read moreRead less
Super Financial Security: Improving Flexibility, Trust and Communication. This project aims to address the significant worldwide challenge of how to safeguard financial wellbeing at older ages. In doing so it aims to investigate three important and interconnected influences on retirement preparation: flexible choice architecture, trust formation and effective communication. The project aims to use a combination of innovative modelling, experimental and field-based approaches. The principal expec ....Super Financial Security: Improving Flexibility, Trust and Communication. This project aims to address the significant worldwide challenge of how to safeguard financial wellbeing at older ages. In doing so it aims to investigate three important and interconnected influences on retirement preparation: flexible choice architecture, trust formation and effective communication. The project aims to use a combination of innovative modelling, experimental and field-based approaches. The principal expected outcomes are insights into the factors that guide superannuation choice, build trust with superannuation providers, and ensure clear and effective communication with members.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100585
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Women, task allocations, and advancement in the labour market. This project aims to investigate the origins and labour market consequences of gender differences in willingness to perform low-promotability tasks. The design of practices and institutions that can close gender gaps in the labour market and promote the advancement of the highest quality workforce in organisations requires information about the factors that affect career advancement. This project will study the allocation of tasks th ....Women, task allocations, and advancement in the labour market. This project aims to investigate the origins and labour market consequences of gender differences in willingness to perform low-promotability tasks. The design of practices and institutions that can close gender gaps in the labour market and promote the advancement of the highest quality workforce in organisations requires information about the factors that affect career advancement. This project will study the allocation of tasks that do not enhance prospects for promotion. The project will provide new insights regarding how organisations and the government can design programs to reduce the under-representation of women in leadership positions and in traditionally male-dominated fields.Read moreRead less