Legitimacy and representation: A comprehensive study of electoral systems and strategic voting behaviour. What makes a good electoral system? How can it reflect the preference of the majority while guaranteeing representation to minorities? Should voting be voluntary or mandatory? These are very relevant questions for any democracy, but particularly so for Australia: a country which has always been at the forefront of the electoral debate, that proudly strives to represent with fairness all sect ....Legitimacy and representation: A comprehensive study of electoral systems and strategic voting behaviour. What makes a good electoral system? How can it reflect the preference of the majority while guaranteeing representation to minorities? Should voting be voluntary or mandatory? These are very relevant questions for any democracy, but particularly so for Australia: a country which has always been at the forefront of the electoral debate, that proudly strives to represent with fairness all sectors of its very diverse society and where voting is not only a citizen's right, but also her duty. By approaching these issues in a game theoretic framework, this project proposes to investigate the strategic nature of voting through a comprehensive study of electoral systems. The project will then test our theoretical predictions through a series of laboratory experiments. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100190
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,996.00
Summary
Auction design with behavioural bidders. This project aims to incorporate behavioural elements from psychology into the economic analysis of auctions. The project will address discrepancies between traditional economic analysis of auctions based on fully rational bidders, and evidence from psychology and behavioural economics which demonstrates systemic departures from rational decision-making. This will expand realism in economic analysis and contribute new insights for the design of relevant, ....Auction design with behavioural bidders. This project aims to incorporate behavioural elements from psychology into the economic analysis of auctions. The project will address discrepancies between traditional economic analysis of auctions based on fully rational bidders, and evidence from psychology and behavioural economics which demonstrates systemic departures from rational decision-making. This will expand realism in economic analysis and contribute new insights for the design of relevant, real-world auctions such as real-estate auctions or internet auctions. The project outcomes are expected to enhance the efficient allocation of resources, improve our understanding of how different rules affect buyers' well-being and help design fairer auctions.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
The economics of cooperative behaviour. Free-riding and rent-seeking, such as tax avoidance and nepotism, are group-undermining activities that societies including Australia continuously struggle with. The aim of this project is to develop a fuller understanding of how to protect human groups from these socially damaging group-related behaviours. Drawing on a conceptual grounding that combines ideas from across social science, the project aims to implement a suite of economic experiments to deve ....The economics of cooperative behaviour. Free-riding and rent-seeking, such as tax avoidance and nepotism, are group-undermining activities that societies including Australia continuously struggle with. The aim of this project is to develop a fuller understanding of how to protect human groups from these socially damaging group-related behaviours. Drawing on a conceptual grounding that combines ideas from across social science, the project aims to implement a suite of economic experiments to develop a view of humans' cooperative behaviour that unites several strands of economics literature and offers new insights about how institutions that counter free-riding and rent-seeking arise and are maintained.Read moreRead less
Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how ....Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how to redesign the regulatory system to deliver better environmental outcomes for less public funds. The insights gained should provide significant benefits to both Federal and State Australian policymakers (as well as policymakers worldwide) on the design and implementation of carbon offsetting mechanisms.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.