Rational herding in crowdfunding, social preferences under uncertainty, and overplacement in known and unknown tasks: a behavioral approach

It has been proved in this dissertation how experimental economics continues to be a tool that, as it nourishes theoretical economics (and viceversa), it keeps producing results that are necessary to understand how to articulate social relations which, ultimately, have consequences oneconomic relations. Specifically, Chapter 1 has studied how the dissemination of new information affects crowdfunding markets and the generation of herding behaviour. Specifically, we provide evidence in that such behaviour is rational and could be well moulded through optimal choice under uncertainty with Bayesian review of beliefs. In this sense, the effect of the first sponsors on the agents# behaviour has been highlighted, through the change in the probabilities of success of the financing campaigns. Finally, another result shows how potential funders are more guided by the opinions of other individuals rather than those of experts. Chapter 2 of the dissertation has focused on analyzing how social preferences are affected in contexts of uncertainty. Taking an experimental (more conventional) laboratory design, a Dictator's Game was proposed in which it was verified to what extent the probability of being dictated (recipient) affected the distribution made by the agents according to the given initial endowment. The three conclusions obtained are: the level of generosity decreases as the probability of being dictator increases; being in the role of dictator reduces generosity; and starting making decisions with absolute certainty affects only those who are in the role of recipient. We did not find that variables such as sex, degree of risk aversion or cognitive abilities would affect the level of generosity of individuals. Finally, chapter 3 has focused on studying the existence -or not- of possible gender differences in the performance of tasks in which individuals must evaluate their performance. This evaluation was not only in reference to themselves (absolute), but also in relation to other reference groups (total, same sex, opposite sex). For this study, and as a control measurement, two tasks have been assigned that are different in the degree of the subjects# exposure to the performance of similar tasks (level of experience). Namely, the Raven test and the recording of a short video. The latter task adds the lack of previous experience in other similar tasks and the difficulty of self-assessment, since the evaluation was done by people who did not take part of the experiment. The results obtained do not support the hypothesis saying that men are more optimistic than women when performing the tasks with respect to others. In the Raven test no gender differences were found. No differences in both the terms of predictions and how it has been carried out with respect to others (overplacement), and in relation to the total or those of the same sex. However, we did find that women are more precise in adjusting their results compared to men.It has been proved in this dissertation how experimental economics continues to be a tool that, as it nourishes theoretical economics (and viceversa), it keeps producing results that are necessary to understand how to articulate social relations which, ultimately, have consequences oneconomic relations. Specifically, Chapter 1 has studied how the dissemination of new information affects crowdfunding markets and the generation of herding behaviour. Specifically, we provide evidence in that such behaviour is rational and could be well moulded through optimal choice under uncertainty with Bayesian review of beliefs. In this sense, the effect of the first sponsors on the agents# behaviour has been highlighted, through the change in the probabilities of success of the financing campaigns. Finally, another result shows how potential funders are more guided by the opinions of other individuals rather than those of experts. Chapter 2 of the dissertation has focused on analyzing how social preferences are affected in contexts of uncertainty. Taking an experimental (more conventional) laboratory design, a Dictator's Game was proposed in which it was verified to what extent the probability of being dictated (recipient) affected the distribution made by the agents according to the given initial endowment. The three conclusions obtained are: the level of generosity decreases as the probability of being dictator increases; being in the role of dictator reduces generosity; and starting making decisions with absolute certainty affects only those who are in the role of recipient. We did not find that variables such as sex, degree of risk aversion or cognitive abilities would affect the level of generosity of individuals. Finally, chapter 3 has focused on studying the existence -or not- of possible gender differences in the performance of tasks in which individuals must evaluate their performance. This evaluation was not only in reference to themselves (absolute), but also in relation to other reference groups (total, same sex, opposite sex). For this study, and as a control measurement, two tasks have been assigned that are different in the degree of the subjects# exposure to the performance of similar tasks (level of experience). Namely, the Raven test and the recording of a short video. The latter task adds the lack of previous experience in other similar tasks and the difficulty of self-assessment, since the evaluation was done by people who did not take part of the experiment. The results obtained do not support the hypothesis saying that men are more optimistic than women when performing the tasks with respect to others. In the Raven test no gender differences were found. No differences in both the terms of predictions and how it has been carried out with respect to others (overplacement), and in relation to the total or those of the same sex. However, we did find that women are more precise in adjusting their results compared to men

Standard vs random dictator games: On the effects of role uncertainty and framing on generosity

This project was conducted while Ernesto Mesa-Vázquez was visiting Universidad Loyola Andalucia. He wants to particularly thank Pablo Brañas-Garza and Diego Jorrat for continued guidance and assessment with the experimental design. Álvaro Núñez-Bermúdez and the faculty members of the Economics and Business Sciences department at the University of Seville were very helpful in providing assistance for running the experiment. The paper has benefited from comments and suggestions provided by Maria Paz Espinosa, Giuseppe Attanassi, José Enrique Vila, Iván Arribas, Marco Faillo, Cristina Borra and participants at the Loyola Behavioral Lab and the Early Career Researchers in Experimental Economics Workshop (ECREEW) organized by the Red Española de Economía Experimental y del Comportamiento. Members of the ESA community were very helpful pointing out to relevant papers to our research. Special thanks to Daniel Müller, Michael Kurschilgen, Sabine Erika Kröger, Daniel Zizzo, Praveen Kujal, Paul J. Halevy, Michal Krawczyk and Matthias Greiff for their references and stimulating discussion. Finally, we acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economics and Competition under the project ECO2016- 75575-R (A. Urbano) and the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under projects PID2019-110790RB-I00 (A. Urbano) and PGC2018-097875-A-I00 (Ismael Rodriguez-Lara); and the Generalitat Valenciana, Spain under the Excellence Program Prometeo 2019/095 (A. Urbano). Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. The usual disclaimers apply.We show that generosity is affected when we vary the level of role uncertainty, i.e., the probability that the dictator’s decision will be implemented. We also show that framing matters for generosity in that subjects are less generous when they are told that their choices will be implemented with a certain probability, compared with a setting in which they are told that their choices will not be implemented with certain probabilitySpanish Government ECO2016-75575-RSpanish Ministry of Economics and Competition PID2019-110790RB-I00 PGC2018-097875-A-I00Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and UniversitiesGeneralitat Valenciana 2019/095Universidad de Granada/CBU

Rational Herding in Reward-Based Crowdfunding: An MTurk Experiment.

Crowdfunding is gaining popularity as a way of financing social sustainable initiatives. We performed a controlled economic experiment in MTurk by simulating a crowdfunding platform and developed a theoretical model that rationalizes herding behavior. The experiment was designed to test and quantify the causal effects of revealing specific information to prospective backers: (i) the number of early contributors already financing the project and (ii) positive opinions of other backers versus those of experts. The results show that early contributions to the campaign and positive opinions of peers act as a reinforcing signal to potential backers and affect backers' beliefs about the probability of success, increasing contributions to the campaign. Furthermore, we show that herding is rational and set expectations on when we should observe rational herding and when not. The theoretical model captures the rational herding, which may be the main information aggregation path in reward-based crowdfunding platforms, and can help managers increase the likelihood of success in crowdfunding campaigns

Gender differences in overplacement in familiar and unfamiliar tasks: Far more similarities

This paper explores gender differences in overplacement in two independent and unrelated tasks. The first measures performance via Raven’s Progressive Matrices test, the second in a video presentation assessed by external judges. While in the first task, we expected participants to have prior knowledge about their own experience in similar tasks, we did not expect them to have experience of the second task. Therefore, the latter seems an ideal environment in which to test overplacement given that participants had no ex-ante information with which to make performance predictions. In both cases, participants received monetary incentives depending on the accuracy of their predictions regarding their own performance compared to other participants. We analyzed overplacement – whether participants expect to outperform their actual performance compared to the entire sample – and in/out-group overplacement– whether the participants expect to outperform participants of the same and the opposite sex. Results show that there are no gender differences in any task except in Raven’s Progressive Matrices for out-group overplacement

Three Decades of Behavioural Economics in Agriculture. An Overview of Global Research

Over the last three decades, behavioural economics has been gaining ground in the research on a wide range of agriculture-related themes. This is due to the diversity of the agents involved in the production systems and the agro-food value chains in which opposing interests must be reconciled. The main objective of this study is to examine the dynamics of the research on the application of behavioural economics in agriculture across the world. To do this, a bibliometric analysis has been carried out through a literature review of the period between 1991 and 2020. The results of the study show that the use of behavioural economics has increased in the research on agriculture, particularly over the last five years. The application of behavioural economics in agriculture has focused on analysing consumers, producers, management, marketing, development, environmental issues, climate change, food and health

Experimental Economics in Agriculture: A Review of Worldwide Research

Over the last two decades, experimental economics has been gaining relevance in the research of a wide range of issues related to agriculture. In turn, the agricultural activity provides an excellent field of study within which to validate the use of instruments employed by experimental economics. The aim of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the research on the application of experimental economics in agriculture on a global level. Thus, a literature review has been carried out for the period between the years 2000 and 2020 based on a bibliometric study. The main results show that there has been a growing use of experimental economics methods in the research on agriculture, particularly over the last five years. This evolution is evident in the different indicators analyzed and is reflected in the greater scientific production and number of actors involved. The most relevant topics within the research on experimental economics in agriculture focus on the farmer, the markets, the consumer, environmental policy, and public goods. These results can be useful for policy makers and researchers interested in this line of research

Overview of Research on Sustainable Agriculture in Developing Countries. The Case of Mexico

One of the principal challenges faced by Mexican agriculture is the development of management models that are able to increase production while respecting the environment and generating wealth for society as a whole. In recent years, the number of studies analysing the sustainability of Mexican agriculture has grown significantly. The purpose of this study is to analyse the evolution of the research on the sustainability of agriculture in Mexico. For this purpose, a review and bibliometric analysis of a sample of 867 articles was carried out. The results reveal that the research has focused on the development of sustainable agricultural models in vulnerable rural areas, the sustainable exploitation of agroforestry systems, the development of energy crops for different uses, water resource management and land uses and their changes, conservation farming and climate change. Although research focused on sustainability is still in its early stages, it has become a priority field. A need to promote research from the economic and social disciplines may be observed, together with holistic projects that include the three pillars of sustainability (social, economic and environmental). This study could be useful to researchers in this field as it identifies the recent trends and principal agents that drive knowledge

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Standard vs random dictator games: On the effects of role uncertainty and framing on generosity

We show that generosity is affected when we vary the level of role uncertainty, i.e., the probability that the dictator’s decision will be implemented. We also show that framing matters for generosity in that subjects are less generous when they are told that their choices will be implemented with a certain probability, compared with a setting in which they are told that their choices will not be implemented with certain probability.Spanish Government ECO2016-75575-R PID2019-110790RB-I00 PGC2018-097875-A-I00Center for Forestry Research & Experimentation (CIEF) 2019/095Universidad de Granada/CBU

Farmers’ profiles and attitudes towards the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems in intensive agriculture

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems are presented as a feasible alternative to increase water resources for agricultural use. However, the installation of these systems in farmers’ holdings is very limited. It is necessary to know the opinions and attitudes of farmers towards these systems to develop specific measures that respond to their needs. This study analyses the case of intensive agriculture in southeastern Spain. The objective is to understand the attitudes of farmers in relation to the installation of RWH systems. A profile of farmers regarding RWH usage was developed through cluster analysis techniques. The results show that the detected farmer groups have different preferences and attitudes regarding RWH and the incentives that could be implemented to encourage its use. The most important obstacles to implementing RWH are not only economic but also technical and agronomic. Additionally, the degree of environmental awareness a farmer has plays a key role in their decision to install RWH systems. Recommendations based on the findings of this study are provided for policy-makers. The results of this research may be useful for those regions that are considering RWH, especially in areas where water availability is a limiting factor for agricultural development or compromises its sustainability