Work in progress

Selective attention and preference elicitation with N. Gennaioli

This project addresses well-known economic phenomena, such as the four-fold pattern of choice under uncertainty, the description-experience gap (Hertwig and Erev, 2009), belief-preference inconsistencies, and the risk-ambiguity discrepancy (Abdellaoui, Baillon, Placido, and Wakker; 2011). Recognizing the limitations of existing behavioral choice theories in accommodating these diverse phenomena, we turn to insights from human memory principles (Kahana, 2012). We investigate how the interplay between memory retrieval and the salience of choice parameters affects attention in uncertain decision contexts and, consequently, economic choices. Utilizing incentive-compatible experiments, we rigorously examine these paradoxical phenomena within a unifying framework. Our investigation aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of decision-making processes and contribute valuable insights to the field of behavioral economics.

Biased nudges with L. Guenther

Misinformation about immigration is widely seen as a driver of negative public attitudes and populist movements across Europe. A multidisciplinary literature finds that people overestimate the scale and negative impacts of immigration, yet correcting these misperceptions often has a limited impact on attitudes. This finding has critical policy implications. Our key idea is that existing studies overlook a crucial factor: the choice of information provided. However, previous studies have paid minimal attention to arguably the most important choice a researcher in this literature has to make: what information to provide to subjects. Most existing studies focus on the same narrow set of statistics (e.g., immigrant population size or unemployment effects), potentially neglecting issues that matter more to the public, such as crime rates involving asylum seekers. This raises the concern that the limited effects of information provision might reflect researchers’ selection biases rather than inherent public resistance to updating beliefs. Our preliminary studies in several European countries confirm this gap: the information people care about most (e.g., crime statistics) is rarely studied, suggesting a need for a more comprehensive approach.

Social norms and consumer behavior with G. Atzeni and M. Vannini

As part of the EU pilot project SheepToShip LIFE aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Sardinian sheep farming sector and dairy supply chain by 20% in 10 years, we examine the potential of social norms to alter consumption choices in favor of low-emission products.

Cognitive and social biases in the aggregate with and without AI with J. Ferreira, J. Pais, A. Pires, and G. Riener