Self-control in Economic Behaviour. This project aims to use new Australian data to study the way that people’s self-control affects their economic behaviour. This project expects to advance science by testing two new ways of identifying whether people understand their own self-control issues and conducting an innovative program of research that links people’s self-control to their life chances. Expected outcomes include an understanding of i) the factors driving the capacity for self-control; i ....Self-control in Economic Behaviour. This project aims to use new Australian data to study the way that people’s self-control affects their economic behaviour. This project expects to advance science by testing two new ways of identifying whether people understand their own self-control issues and conducting an innovative program of research that links people’s self-control to their life chances. Expected outcomes include an understanding of i) the factors driving the capacity for self-control; ii) the role of self-control in promoting wellbeing; and iii) policy options for improving outcomes through better self-control. This should provide significant benefits in supporting policy agendas such as the Government’s Priority Investment Approach and behavioural economics teams. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100887
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Economic analysis of time constraints on decision-making in health. This project aims to determine whether and how time constraints affect decision-making. Time constraints can impair the quality of decisions in health, resulting in serious medical and financial consequences. This project will employ experimental economic methods to examine how misaligned preferences and incentives influence decision-making under time constraints. The project will offer scientific evidence and accurate measureme ....Economic analysis of time constraints on decision-making in health. This project aims to determine whether and how time constraints affect decision-making. Time constraints can impair the quality of decisions in health, resulting in serious medical and financial consequences. This project will employ experimental economic methods to examine how misaligned preferences and incentives influence decision-making under time constraints. The project will offer scientific evidence and accurate measurements, provide insights into interventions to align the preferences of doctors and patients, and to lower the overtreatment of patients in the health-care market. The project expects to benefit society and contribute to a more efficient healthcare system.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101032
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,000.00
Summary
Economic analysis of peer effects in adolescence and adulthood. Although healthier, stronger and better at reasoning than young children, adolescents' morbidity and mortality rates are double those of young children. Unintentional injury, mostly avoidable and attributed to wrong decisions, is the biggest cause of death and hospitalisation among adolescents in Australia. Peer presence is likely to be a major cause of adolescents' inferior decision-making. This project aims to use experimental eco ....Economic analysis of peer effects in adolescence and adulthood. Although healthier, stronger and better at reasoning than young children, adolescents' morbidity and mortality rates are double those of young children. Unintentional injury, mostly avoidable and attributed to wrong decisions, is the biggest cause of death and hospitalisation among adolescents in Australia. Peer presence is likely to be a major cause of adolescents' inferior decision-making. This project aims to use experimental economics methods to study how peer presence affects the parameters of the economic decision model, specifically risk tolerance, discounting, and propensity to make errors. The project aims to advance the understanding of decision-making across the lifespan, inform theoretical modelling and advise policy-makers how to reduce the risks to adolescents.Read moreRead less
Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the l ....Strategic Behaviour in Games. John von Neumann’s minimax solution (1928) and its generalisation to mixed-strategy Nash (1950) equilibrium are the cornerstones of modern game theory, the mathematical framework for the study of decision making when the actions of different decision makers interact. This project studies human behaviour in situations where decision makers have an incentive to be unpredictable. The proposed research will shed light on the sources of the failure of the theory in the lab, and assesses the practical significance of the statistical tests used to evaluate laboratory data on mixed-strategy play.Read moreRead less
Neuroeconomic foundations of probability and value perception. This project aims to investigate well-known behavioural “biases” in probability and value perception through the lens of neurobiology. This project will generate new knowledge on how the value of rewards, and the likelihood of receiving them, are incorporated in the decision-making process. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will be of interest to researchers from several domains of social science, which focus on how a ....Neuroeconomic foundations of probability and value perception. This project aims to investigate well-known behavioural “biases” in probability and value perception through the lens of neurobiology. This project will generate new knowledge on how the value of rewards, and the likelihood of receiving them, are incorporated in the decision-making process. Using an interdisciplinary approach, this project will be of interest to researchers from several domains of social science, which focus on how and why people make their decisions and how we could improve people’s wellbeing by improving their choices. The findings will provide insights into effective, behaviour-related policy design that aims to improve peoples’ well-being.Read moreRead less
An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial ....An Investigation of Chronic and Transitory Poverty in Australia in the Twenty-First Century. People in chronic poverty are unlikely to lead 'healthy, productive or fulfilling' lives. Their unrealized productive and creative potential is a loss to society as well as to the individuals themselves. The information about the intensity of chronic and transitory poverty in Australia that is generated by this project will enable government and charitable institutions to better allocate the substantial resources that they invest annually in programs to assist economically disadvantaged people. The project also has a training function: to develop the research capacity of a postgraduate student who will write a thesis on chronic poverty among children. Read moreRead less
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
The rate of time preference in choice experiments: A systematic re-analysis. This project intends to re-analyse data from over 20 years of past research to understand when and why people sometimes make short-sighted choices. Time preference is a core concept in both theoretical and applied economics and a key input in public policy, yet empirical understanding of it is poor. Almost all important decisions of households, businesses and government involve benefits and costs that unfold over time. ....The rate of time preference in choice experiments: A systematic re-analysis. This project intends to re-analyse data from over 20 years of past research to understand when and why people sometimes make short-sighted choices. Time preference is a core concept in both theoretical and applied economics and a key input in public policy, yet empirical understanding of it is poor. Almost all important decisions of households, businesses and government involve benefits and costs that unfold over time. Many economists have used decision-making experiments to study how people value the future and make trade-offs over time, but these have not reached any clear consensus. This project plans to systematically re-analyse primary data using state-of-the-art estimation techniques to generate new estimates of the discount rate for each study. These will then be analysed in a meta-regression analysis to identify the factors that cause discount rates to vary between studies.Read moreRead less
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
Taxation, family policy and pension reform in an uncertain economy. The policies with which this research is concerned are central in determining the well being of millions of Australians in both current and future generations. It is important that these policies be debated and formulated on the basis of the best possible conceptual framework and with the most reliable possible quantitative assessments of their effects. It is also important that the policies concerned be considered jointly rathe ....Taxation, family policy and pension reform in an uncertain economy. The policies with which this research is concerned are central in determining the well being of millions of Australians in both current and future generations. It is important that these policies be debated and formulated on the basis of the best possible conceptual framework and with the most reliable possible quantitative assessments of their effects. It is also important that the policies concerned be considered jointly rather than in isolation from each other. The work will therefore directly assist policy makers in this area. Since it will be at the leading edge of current research, it will also benefit Australia's standing in the international research community.Read moreRead less