Research
I am a mathematical social scientist working in the intersection of economics, social work and computer science. My research focuses on the behavioral “supply chain” of public/social service provision: determinants of voluntary contributions, design of mechanisms, and models of behavior of the very low income.
CV.
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PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Economics and political science experiments on voluntary contributions in the field and lab.
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Casual Physical Contact and Outgroup Bias: Experimental Evidence from Afghanistan” with Luke Condra, forthcoming at Journal of Politics
- Ethnic bias, as measured by lack of altruism, increases when non-coethnics are physically present. Contact-induced bias appears connected to language differences.
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“Clerics and Scriptures: Experimentally Disentangling the Influence of Religious Authority in Afghanistan” with Luke Condra and Mohammad Isaqzadeh, British Journal of Political Science (2017), pp.1-19
- Solicitation by religious authorities compels people to give, but giving drops to the minimum. Intrinsic motivation appears crowded out.
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“Wallflowers: Experimental Evidence of an Aversion to Standing Out” with Daniel Jones. Management Science (July 2014), 60 (7), pp. 1757-1771. Online Appendix B, C, D.
- Removing anonymity in giving and volunteering induces women to imitate others’ prosocial behavior, suggesting gender specific concerns about appearing to be different.
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“No Excuses for Good Behavior: Volunteering and the Social Environment” with Margaret Anne McConnell. Journal of Public Economics (June 2011), 95, 5-6, pp 445-454.
- People do not want to be the most unaltruistic person in a room — and hence will use excuses to avoid taking prosocial action while protecting their reputation.
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Peer Coordination and Communication Following Disaster Warnings: An Experimental Framework, Safety Science (December 2016), 90, pp. 24-32
- A design proposal to test the impact of utilizing social influence to improve evacuation outcomes. Read more.
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“Can Relational Contracts Survive Stochastic Interruptions?” with Colin Camerer, revise and resubmit Experimental Economics
- In a setting where firms reward “prosocial” workers with employment, removing the stigma of unemployment turns out to not harm market efficiency.
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Globalization and Altruism Towards the Poor in Developing Countries: Experimental Evidence from India” with Nita Rudra, under review
- When multinational firms enter developing countries, the poor are perceived as needing less help.
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Ongoing studies:
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ECON + SOCIAL WORK
Field experiments and surveys with the working homeless, former inmates, and minimum wage workers in the United States.
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ECON + CS
Design of mechanisms for practical use and privacy-preserving prediction.
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