Motivated by the prevalence of debt crises and the resulting policy debates, this study uses a vignette-based survey to examine the moral intuitions that underlie debt-related policy preferences. After reading a hypothetical scenario involving a debtor and a lender, survey respondents rate the...

We experimentally investigate the path dependence of voluntary contributions in a public good game with heterogeneous agents who vary in their ability to increase the public good. More specifically, we analyze whether contribution norms observed in a first phase of the experiment under a...

Katharina Wedel prepared this study while she was working at the Center for the Economics of Education at the ifo Institute. The study was completed in September 2023 and accepted as doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at LMU Munich. It consists of four distinct empirical essays that...

We examine the relationship between perceived income positions and attitudes towards inequality at a supranational-level. Conducting a survey in four EU Member States (Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden), we confirm that their citizens misperceive their own income position in the EU. Once we...

Existing sociological research on support for anti-poverty programs largely focuses on broad categories of welfare or assistance to the poor rather than particular types of transfers. Using an experimental survey design and mixed methods research, we examine whether support for anti-poverty...

The majority of British home and motor insurance policies automatically renew annually, at a price chosen by the provider, unless consumers actively switch or negotiate. Auto-renewal can be beneficial to consumers for example by ensuring continuity of cover. However, the media, consumer groups...

Standard economic theory assumes that agents' valuation of economic outcomes is independent of the process via which these outcomes are produced. Yet Bulte, Gerking, List, and de Zeeuw (2005) found that causes in addition to outcomes matter in valuation. Using a field experiment I test whether...

In this paper, we review selected evidence to demonstrate the value of experiments for policy design with a focus on environmental policy and tax policy. Experiments can substantially improve ex-ante predictions about the outcomes of policy interventions, for example, by serving as...

This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial aimed at testing the effectiveness of an innovative intervention of asset building (Percorsi) on high school students' transition to the university. Contrary to most traditional forms of financial aid, the tested intervention is...

Despite the growing evidence on the negative consequences of school bullying, there is no consensus regarding the most effective strategies to fight this problem. We study the impact of a randomized intervention to reduce school bullying in urban public schools in Peru, a country where violence...