Do you mind me paying less? Measuring Other-Regarding Preferences in the Market for Taxis

This is the final version. Available on open access from INFORMS via the DOI in this record.We present a natural field experiment designed to measure other–regarding preferences in the market for taxis. We employed testers of varying ethnicity to take a number of predetermined taxi journeys. In each case we endowed them with only 80% of the expected fare. Testers revealed the amount they could afford to pay to the driver mid–journey and asked for a portion of the journey for free. In a 2×2 between–subject design we vary the length of the journey and whether or not a business card is elicited. We find that (1) the majority of drivers give at least part of the journey for free, (2) giving is proportional to the length of the journey and (3) that 27% of drivers complete the journey. Evidence of out–group negativity against black testers is also reported. In order to link our empirical analysis to behavioural theory we estimate the parameters of a number of utility functions. The data and the structural analysis lend support to the quantitative predictions of experiments that measure other–regarding preferences, and shed further light on how discrimination can manifest itself within our preferences.University of Exete

An experiment on first-price common-value auctions with asymmetric information structures: The blessed winner

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.In common-value auctions bidders have access to public information, and may also hold private information prior to choosing their bids. The literature has predominately focused on the case in which bidders are ex-ante symmetric and privately informed, and finds that aggressive bidding such that payoffs are negative is common (the winner's curse). In practice, bidders often only have access to public information, and use this information to form (possibly differing) beliefs. In addition, a bidder who is not privately informed may face bidders who are. We examine bidding behavior of both informed and uninformed bidders, and vary the information structure they face. We find that uninformed bidders underbid dramatically and persistently, while informed bidders tend to overbid in the two-bidder case. Our results highlight the importance of correctly modeling the information available to bidders.Financial support from the Department of Economics at Texas A&M University and the BID cluster at the University of Exeter is gratefully acknowledged

Discrimination in a deprived neighbourhood: an artefactual field experiment

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.We present a field experiment designed to examine the discriminatory motives of an understudied demographic: the poorest people in England. Subjects are first asked to divide £10 between two strangers, and then play a £10 dictator game with another stranger. We subtly vary the ethnicity of the receivers by providing subjects with surnames randomly drawn from the electoral register, including treatments that allow us to parse behaviour into either in–group favouritism or out–group negativity, an important behavioural distinction that is typically overlooked in the discrimination literature. Our results suggest that the observed discriminatory attitudes are the result of out-group negativity rather than in-group favouritism. We advance the literature on discrimination through the estimation of a structural model of group– contingent social preferences, which we exploit to perform counterfactual simulations. Our results provide insights into the behaviour of this unique demographic and provide a rationale for why they may support discriminatory policies in their voting behaviour

The development of social preferences

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThis paper examines how social preferences develop with age. This is done using a range of mini-dictator games from which we classify 665 subjects into a variety of behavioural types. We expand on previous developmental studies of pro-sociality and parochialism by analysing individuals aged 9–67, and by employing a cross country study where participants from Spain interact with participants from different ethnic groups (Arab, East Asian, Black and White) belonging to different countries (Morocco, China, Senegal and Spain). We identify a ‘U-shaped’ relationship between age and egalitarianism that had previously gone unnoticed, and appeared linear. An inverse “U-shaped” relationship is found to be true for altruism. A gender differential is found to emerge in teenage years, with females becoming less altruistic but more egalitarian than males. In contrast to the majority of previous economic studies of the development of social preferences, we report evidence of increased altruism, and decreased egalitarianism and spite expressed towards black individuals from Senegal

Reconstructing nonparametric productivity networks

Network models provide a general representation of inter-connected system dynamics. This ability to connect systems has led to a proliferation of network models for economic productivity analysis, primarily estimated non-parametrically using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). While network DEA models can be used to measure system performance, they lack a statistical framework for inference, due in part to the complex structure of network processes. We fill this gap by developing a general framework to infer the network structure in a Bayesian sense, in order to better understand the underlying relationships driving system performance. Our approach draws on recent advances in information science, machine learning and statistical inference from the physics of complex systems to estimate unobserved network linkages. To illustrate, we apply our framework to analyze the production of knowledge, via own and cross-disciplinary research, for a world-country panel of bibliometric data. We find significant interactions between related disciplinary research output, both in terms of quantity and quality. In the context of research productivity, our results on cross-disciplinary linkages could be used to better target research funding across disciplines and institutions. More generally, our framework for inferring the underlying network production technology could be applied to both public and private settings which entail spillovers, including intra-and inter-firm managerial decisions and public agency coordination. This framework also provides a systematic approach to model selection when the underlying network structure is unknown

On the robustness of gender differences in economic behavior

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this recordData and code availability: The dataset generated and analyzed for this research project as well as the custom code that supports the study′s findings are available on OSF (https://osf.io/tyzjh/?view_only=243e2b6ca1174a8d802f496ce97c6a70). The oTree code is available on request.Because of the importance of economic decisions, researchers have looked into what factors influence them. Gender has received a lot of attention for explaining differences in behavior. But how much can be associated with gender, and how much with an individual's biological sex? We run an experimental online study with cis- and transgender participants that (1) looks into correlational differences between gender and sex for competitiveness, risk-taking, and altruism by comparing decisions across these different subject groups. (2) we prime participants with either a masculine or feminine gender identity to examine causal gender effects on behavior. We hypothesize that if gender is indeed a primary factor for decision-making, (i) individuals of the same gender (but different sex) make similar decisions, and (ii) gender priming changes behavior. Based on 780 observations, we conclude that the role of gender (and sex) is not as decisive for economic behavior as originally thought.Elite Network of BavariaBavarian State Ministry of Science and the ArtsUniversity of Exeter Business Schoo

Thomson scattering from a shock front

We have obtained a Thomson scattering spectrum in the collective regime by scattering a probe beam from a shock front, in an experiment conducted at the Omega laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The probe beam was created by frequency converting a beamline at Omega to a 2 ns2ns pulse of 0.263 μm0.263μm light, focused with a dedicated optical focusing system. The diagnostic system included collecting optics, spectrometer, and streak camera, with a scattering angle of 101°. The target included a primary shock tube, a 20-μm20-μm-thick beryllium drive disk, 0.3-μm0.3-μm-thick polyimide windows mounted on a secondary tube, and a gas fill tube. Detected acoustic waves propagated parallel to the target axis. Ten laser beams irradiated the beryllium disk with 0.351 μm0.351μm light at 5×1014 W/cm25×1014W∕cm2 for 1 ns1ns starting at toto, driving a strong shock through argon gas at ρo = 1 mg/ccρo=1mg∕cc. The 200 J200J probe beam fired at t = 19 nst=19ns for 2 ns2ns, and at t = 20.1 nst=20.1ns a 0.3 ns0.3ns signal was detected. We attribute this signal to scattering from the shocked argon, before the density increased above critical due to radiative collapse.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87893/2/10E504_1.pd

Dual, orthogonal, backlit pinhole radiography in OMEGA experiments

Backlit pinhole radiography used with ungated film as a detector creates x-ray radiographs with increased resolution and contrast. Current hydrodynamics experiments on the OMEGA Laser use a three-dimensional sinusoidal pattern as a seed perturbation for the study of instabilities. The structure of this perturbation makes it highly desirable to obtain two simultaneous orthogonal backlighting views. We accomplished this using two backlit pinholes each mounted 12 mm12mm from the target. The pinholes, of varying size and shape, were centered on 5 mm5mm square foils of 50 μm50μm thick Ta. The backlighting is by KK-alpha emission from a 500 μm500μm square Ti or Sc foil mounted 500 μm500μm from the Ta on a plastic substrate. Four laser beams overfill the metal foil, so that the expanding plastic provides radial tamping of the expanding metal plasma. The resulting x-rays pass through the target onto (ungated) direct exposure film (DEF). Interference between the two views is reduced by using a nose cone in front of the DEF, typically with a 9 mm9mm Ta aperture and with magnets to deflect electrons. Comparison of varying types of pinholes and film exposures will be presented from recent experiments as well as an analysis of the background noise created using this experimental technique.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87894/2/10E327_1.pd

Vertical consolidation and financial sustainability: evidence from English local government

Proponents of the vertical consolidation of lower-tier units into a smaller number of single-tier local governments suggest that it improves the financial sustainability of governments by generating economies of scale and scope. However, critics suggest that such structural change is beset with disruptive and unanticipated costs that outweigh any potential efficiency savings. I investigate the validity of these contrasting arguments by analysing the expenditure and fiscal health of English county councils before and after the consolidation of the lower-tier units within several counties that took place in 2009. Levels of financial sustainability are modelled using a difference-in-difference estimator for the years 2003–2012. The results suggest that in the short run the consolidated governments have been able to realize administrative economies, but their fiscal health has weakened. These findings appear to be robust to the possibility of selection effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed