We carry out a randomized experiment involving undergraduate students enrolled at an Italian University attending two introductory economics classes to evaluate the impact on achievement of examination frequency and interim feedback provision. Students in the treated group were allowed to...

We analyze how overconfidence is affected by superstitious beliefs and emotions induced by positive and negative stimuli in a field experiment involving about 700 Italian students who were randomly assigned to numbered seats in their written examination sessions. According to widespread...

We conducted a field experiment involving 720 Italian undergraduate students to investigate the existence of gender differences in performance in competitive settings and whether performance is affected by one's opponent gender. The experimental design was aimed at disentangling gender...

We evaluate the effectiveness of monetary incentives in enhancing student performance using a randomized experiment involving undergraduate students enrolled at a southern Italian University. Students were assigned to three different groups: a high-reward group, a low-reward group, and a control...

We exploit a natural experiment based on the Italian promotion system for associate and full professor positions to investigate gender differences in the willingness to enter competition. Using data on about 42,000 professors and controlling for productivity and a number of individual and field...

We analyze how the absence behavior of Italian public sector employees has been affected by a law, passed in June 2008, reducing sick leave compensation and increasing monitoring. We use micro data on 889 workers employed in public administration. We find that the employees’ probability of...

The growth in top incomes occurring in most Oecd countries as from the closing decades of the 20th century is by now well documented, while hard thinking in terms of evaluating the phenomenon appears overdue. Prompted by Franzini Ricchi e poveri. L’Italia e le disuguaglianze (in)accettabili...

Procrastination produces harmful effects for human capital investments and studying activities. Using data from a large sample of Italian undergraduates, we measure procrastination with the actual behaviour of students, considering the delay in finalizing their university enrolment procedure. We...

Using daily scanner data we analyze consumers’ reactions to negative information with regard to product quality with reference to a fraud that involved a number of leading Italian firms in the cheese sector in 2008. We evaluate the effects of this event by using a difference-in-differences...

<i> Un paternalista democratico </i> (di Maria De Paola) - ABSTRACT: In this paper the desirability of a paternalistic intervention, given the hypothesis of not perfectly rational habit forming preferences, is analysed. When individuals are unable to forecast the intensity of their own future...