Overconfidence in Investment Decisions: An Experimental Approach

We experimentally test overconfidence in investment decisions by offering participants the possibility to substitute their own for alternative investment choices. Overall, 149 subjects participated in two experiments, one with just one risky asset, the other with two risky assets. Overconfidence increases (i) with the absolute deviation from optimal choices, (ii) with task complexity, and (iii) decreases with uncertainty as indicated by the difference between willingness to pay and to accept.risky decision making, behavioral finance, portfolio choice, experimental economics

Monitoring and Pay: An Experiment on Employee Performance under Endogenous Supervision

We present an experimental test of a shirking model where monitoring intensity is endogenous and effort a continuous variable. Wage level, monitoring intensity and consequently the desired enforceable effort level are jointly determined by the maximization problem of the firm. As a result, monitoring and pay should be complements. In our experiment, between and within treatment variation is qualitatively in line with the normative predictions of the model under standard assumptions. Yet, we also find evidence for reciprocal behavior. Our data analysis shows, however, that it does not pay for the employer to solely rely on the reciprocity of employees.incentive contracts; supervision; efficiency wages;experiment; incomplete contracts; reciprocity

β-Ketoiminat-Zinkkomplexe als Katalysatoren für die Herstellung von Polyurethanen

Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden tridentate β-Ketoiminat- Zinkkomplexe mit zusätzlichem Seitenarmdonor synthetisiert und charakterisiert. Zudem wurden die katalytischen Aktivitäten dieser Komplexe in Bezug auf die Herstellung von Polyurethanen ermittelt. Die Synthese der zu Grunde liegenden Ligandensysteme konnte durch Reaktion von Acetylaceton mit den entsprechenden Aminen durchgeführt werden. Die bereits bekannten Synthesewege wurden deutlich vereinfacht, sodass die Reaktionszeit von Tagen auf wenige Stunden reduziert werden konnte. Durch die Substitution der γ-Methylgruppen des Acetylacetons waren weitere Modifikationen dieses Katalysatorsystems möglich. Die Substitution der α- und ε-Positionen durch elektronenziehende CF3- oder elektronendonierende tButylgruppen war ausschließlich in geringen Ausbeuten möglich. Durch die Reaktion der Liganden mit Zinkalkylen wurden die entsprechenden Zinkalkylkomplexe LxZnR erhalten. Durch die weitere Reaktion dieser Komplexe mit aromatischen sowie polyetherbasierten Alkoholen konnten die Zinkalkoxidkompexe LxZnOR erhalten werden. Die Untersuchung der katalytischen Aktivitäten dieser Komplexe ergab einen großen Einfluss des Seitenarmdonors. Komplexe mit kürzerem Seitenarm zeigten eine signifikant höhere Aktivität als Komplexe mit längerem Seitenarm. Schwächere Donorfunktionen resultierten ebenso in höheren Aktivitäten. Die Notwendigkeit der Donorfunktion für die Katalyse zeigte sich allerdings bei der Untersuchung von Komplexen ohne Donor. Diese Systeme wiesen gar keine Aktivität auf. Der Einfluss der Alkoxyfunktion konnte ebenfalls ermittelt werden, der Einfluss ist allerdings wesentlich geringer als der der Seitenarmfunktion. Als Mechanismus konnte die Grundannahme einer Insertionsreaktion des Isocyanats in die Alkoxyfunktion vollständig ausgeschlossen werden. Stattdessen konnte hier die erhöhte Reaktivität des Isocyanats durch eine Koordinative Wechselwirkung zwischen dem nukleophilen γ-Kohlenstoff des Ligandenrückgrats und dem elektrophilen Kohlstoff des Isocyanat gezeigt werden. Somit ergibt sich die schnellere Reaktion des Isocyanats mit dem entsprechend eingesetzten Alkohol zum Urethan. Durch die hohe Hydrolyseempfindlichkeit der Katalysatoren ergibt sich die Anwendungsmöglichkeit ausschließlich für wasserfreie Polyurethansysteme. Trotz dessen zeigen diese entwickelten Katalysatorsysteme ein hohes Potential für die Verwendung bei der Herstellung von Polyurethanen

Monitoring and Pay: An Experiment on Employee Performance under Endogenous Supervision

We present an experimental test of a shirking model where monitoring intensity is endogenous and effort a continuous variable. Wage level, monitoring intensity and consequently the desired enforceable effort level are jointly determined by the maximization problem of the firm. As a result, monitoring and pay should be complements. In our experiment, between and within treatment variation is qualitatively in line with the normative predictions of the model under selfishness assumptions. Yet, we also find evidence for reciprocal behavior. The data analysis shows, however, that it does not pay for the employer to rely on the reciprocity of employees

A life-span perspective on life satisfaction

The German population is ageing due to decreasing birth rates and increasing life expectancy. To sustain the German pension system, legal retirement age is increased step by step to 67 years. This raises questions about how to enable and motivate older individuals to work that long. Hence, it is important to understand whether they represent a homogeneous group that can be addressed through specific measures and instruments. Life-span theory points to systematic changes as well as increased heterogeneity with age. For example, work motivation does not generally decline with age but becomes increasingly task-specific, depending on changing life goals and individual adaptation processes in adult development. In this empirical study we analyse age heterogeneity with regard to current life satisfaction and life satisfaction domains (measured as satisfaction with work, income, family and health) that represent personal utilities individuals strive for. For our analysis we use data collected as part of a representative German longitudinal data study (SOEP1). We find increasing heterogeneity in current life satisfaction, satisfaction with work, family life, and health with age. Thus, common mean level analyses on age effects yield only limited informative value. The heterogeneity of older adults should be taken into account when motivating and developing older workers

A life-span perspective on life satisfaction

The German population is ageing due to decreasing birth rates and increasing life expectancy. To sustain the German pension system, legal retirement age is increased step by step to 67 years. This raises questions about how to enable and motivate older individuals to work that long. Hence, it is important to understand whether they represent a homogeneous group that can be addressed through specific measures and instruments. Life-span theory points to systematic changes as well as increased heterogeneity with age. For example, work motivation does not generally decline with age but becomes increasingly task-specific, depending on changing life goals and individual adaptation processes in adult development. In this empirical study we analyse age heterogeneity with regard to current life satisfaction and life satisfaction domains (measured as satisfaction with work, income, family and health) that represent personal utilities individuals strive for. For our analysis we use data collected as part of a representative German longitudinal data study (SOEP1). We find increasing heterogeneity in current life satisfaction, satisfaction with work, family life, and health with age. Thus, common mean level analyses on age effects yield only limited informative value. The heterogeneity of older adults should be taken into account when motivating and developing older workers

Intergenerational Cooperation: an Experimental Study on Beliefs

We report on an experiment in which subjects older than 55 years old and subjects younger than 26 years old play repeatedly 4 versions of the centipede game. For each game we define four treatments that allow us to study cooperation and belief formation of these two age groups. We find that beliefs about the others' age group shape the outcome: while seniors are cooperative and generous with juniors when they incur lower opportunity costs, for juniors it is when playing with seniors that they learn the way to the theoretical solution by smoothly decreasing their cooperation levels

Dynamic Repeated Random Dictatorship and Gender Discrimination

To reduce the cognitive experimenter demand effect we embed a dictator game in a more complex decision environment, a dynamic household savings decision problem, thus rendering the dictator decision to share some endowment less salient. We then use this game in a laboratory experiment to investigate gender specific allocation behaviour and discrimination. We observe that dictators treat females nicer than males independent of their own gender. Participants are not aware of their discriminating behaviour

Dynamic Repeated Random Dictatorship and Gender Discrimination

To reduce the cognitive experimenter demand effect we embed a dictator game in a more complex decision environment, a dynamic household savings decision problem, thus rendering the dictator decision to share some endowment less salient. We then use this game in a laboratory experiment to investigate gender specific allocation behaviour and discrimination. We observe that dictators treat females nicer than males independent of their own gender. Participants are not aware of their discriminating behaviour