Risk Attitudes and Well-Being in Latin America

A common premise in both the theoretical and policy literatures on development is that people remain poor because they are too impatient to save and too risk averse to take the sort of chances needed to accumulate wealth. The empirical literature, however, suggests that this assumption is far from proven. We report on field experiments designed to address many of the issues confounding previous analyses of the links between risk preferences and well-being. Our sample includes more than 3,000 participants who were drawn representatively from six Latin American cities: Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima, Montevideo, San José. In addition to the experiment which reveals interesting cross-country differences, participants completed an extensive survey that provides data on a variety of well-being indicators and a number of important controls. Focusing on risk preferences, we find little evidence of robust links between risk aversion and well-being. However, when we analyze the results of three treatments designed to better reflect common choices made under uncertainty, we see that these, more subtle, instruments correlate better with well-being, even after controlling for a variety of other important factors like the accumulation of human capital and access to credit.risk aversion, ambiguity aversion, loss aversion, risk pooling, well-being, Latin America

Experiments and Economic Development: Lessons from Field Labs in the Developing World

Along with the traditional primitives of economic development (material preferences, technology, and endowments), there is a growing interest in exploring how psychological and sociological factores (e.g., bounded rationality, norms, or social preferences) also influence economic decisions, the evolution of institutions, and outcomes. Simultaneously, a vast literature has arisen arguing that economic experiments are important tools in identifying and quantifying the role of institutions, socialnorms and preferences on behavior and outcomes. Reflecting on our experience conducting experiments in the field over more than five years, we survey the growing literature at the intersection of these two research areas. Our review has four components. In the introduction we set the stage identifying a set of behavioral factors that seem to be central for understanding growth and economic development./ We then divide the existing literature in two piles: standard experiments conducted in the field and on how to econometrically identify sociological factors in experimental data. We conclude by suggesting topics for future research.experimental economics, behavioral economics, institutions, social preferences, poverty, development

The Decline of the Car Enthusiasts: Implications for Undergraduate Engineering Education

Hands-on, project-based engineering education is alive and well. However, anecdotal evidence indicates that we are seeing fewer undergraduate engineering students who arrive on campus already knowing how to ‘use their hands’—having familiarity with tools and mechanical devices, knowing how to connect things, savvy about avoiding leaks in fluid systems, wary of stripping a screw thread or shearing a bolt head—the kinds of things that an archetypal car enthusiast would have learned in high school. For design-build-test project-based engineering educational experiences, having at least one car enthusiast has proven invaluable: more time can be spent on testing and re-designing, rather than getting bogged down in the initial selection of means to satisfy an engineering design function. Also, it seems that the design space can be expanded; students are aware of more ways to satisfy design functions, and less likely to eliminate potential designs due to ignorance of building techniques. Car-enthusiast skills also come in handy during the building process, rather than relying on inexperienced students who may be picking up tools for the first time. Why the decline in these do-it-yourself-ers? Evidence shows that fewer Millennials own and drive cars. This may be affecting their experiences with car maintenance. Millennial culture also includes a type of perfectionism that may be affecting their desire to use their hands, either in fixing things, or in traditional ways of building. The existence of on-board diagnostic computer interfaces is perceived to have an effect, though it is arguable. Many gadgets, especially electronic devices such as mobile phones, PDAs, and gaming systems, are designed and manufactured in ways that make them difficult to open up and repair, but new sites such as iFixit do provide teardowns and repair manuals. I will explore these issues, especially their implications on current undergraduate engineering pedagogy, present ‘practical work’ experiences from Canterbury and Imperial College, and suggest potential ways of improving beginning engineering students’ hands-on skills

WebQuests as an Integrative Experience in Introductory Environmental Engineering

An Integrative Experience was developed as part of an introductory environmental engineering course at Harvey Mudd College. The Integrative Experience was developed to help the college students consider the relationship of science and technology with contemporary society. Junior and senior students enrolled in the course designed WebQuests for middle school students. The WebQuests involved the integration of an environmental issue, problem, or technology and societal effects. WebQuests were designed for a middle school audience in order to expand the amount of engineering outreach that is done at the K-12 level. The HMC students chose WebQuests topics including nuclear and alternative energy; the Los Angeles aqueduct; farming practices and conservation; a cyanide spill in Romania; deforestation; air pollution; and energy conservation and planning. The WebQuests were tested by middle school students in Fontana, California to determine their usefulness in introducing engineering to middle-school students, and feedback was received

A Community-Engagement-Based Design Project in Introductory Environmental Engineering

A collaborative, community-based design project was implemented in the upper-division undergraduate technical elective Introduction to Environmental Engineering at Harvey Mudd College. Students worked with multiple stakeholders in order to design a debris flow barrier for a wilderness land parcel acquired by a local conservancy group. The Rosemont Preserve is a wilderness area preserved in 2012 by the Arroyos and Foothills Conservancy. The Conservancy is working to steward the land and to produce programs for the local community. The ecological resource is co-managed by LA County Public Works. After the 2009 brushfires, the County installed concrete K-Rail barriers to protect residential areas from potential debris flows from fire-denuded hillsides. As part of the wilderness land preservation, the Conservancy is interested in the design of a more-aesthetically pleasing debris flow barrier for the Rosemont Preserve. The conservancy board of directors served as liaisons for the design project, provided background material and the project statement to the student team, as well as answered questions and provided guidance during the design process. Local residents (serving as volunteers for the Conservancy) also served as resources for student questions. LA County Public Works oversees the placement, maintenance, and removal of K-Rails. The student team characterized the wilderness site; acquired relevant GIS data; studied the physics of debris flow and examined previous debris flow barrier designs. The team produced alternative designs for the barrier and chose the best design by applying design metrics. The alternative designs and rationale for the chosen design were presented to the board of directors of the Conservancy. The design project included a significant tie to a community involved with stewarding and managing an ecological resource, and engagement of the students with that local community. Most importantly, the resource was co-managed: it involved multiple stakeholders, sharing power and collaboratively engaging in the decision-making process for the ecological resource. Co-managed projects can provide opportunities for a richer, more complex educational experience for undergraduate students, and one that is representative of how natural resources are currently being managed. This paper summarizes previous community-engagement learning, particularly in the context of undergraduate engineering education; argues that co-managed ecological resources provide good opportunities for increased student engagement with communities; describes an undergraduate engineering design project involving a co-managed resource; and presents assessment data on the educational effectiveness of the design process while working with a co-managed resource. In conclusion, the co-managed project provided richer and increased communication between the multiple stakeholders. However, some students expressed frustration with the difficulties of getting a good communication flow with particular stakeholders, and pointed out how this changed their approach to certain aspects of the design process. For future co-managed projects, it is recommended that more work be done beforehand to get all stakeholders on board in order to improve the student experience

Use of Studio Methods in the Introductory Engineering Design Curriculum

A number of themes, including interest in first year design courses, commitment to active learning approaches, and desires for changes in course structures and costs have come together in a variety of teaching approaches. Some of these approaches have been referred to as using “studio” methods, although the particular pedagogy appears to vary greatly. In this paper, some of these experiments are briefly reviewed and placed in a larger context of studio education in other disciplines. The paper seeks to differentiate studio education from other active learning approaches. An introductory engineering design course was taught using an architecture studio model for two semesters. The experiment demonstrated that the studio method can be very effective in teaching design concepts, but because students are likely to be unfamiliar with this approach, care must be taken to reassure students regarding grades and expectations