Topic: Behavioral Economics

Strawberry doughnut with sprinkles Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

When a Mistake Isn’t

Decision making research may sometimes rush to judgment

Illustration of a manga cartoon Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

What’s in Your Social Media Feed?

On anime sites, what one’s friends are watching is the most persuasive prompt to engage

A young man wearing a blue shirt plays a game on his cellphone Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

What Drives Engagement in $116 Billion Mobile Gaming Industry

Novelty and social connection boost time spent playing

Queue of disgruntled people waiting in line for a bank teller Research Brief / Nudges

We Hate Crowds, But Fail to Strategize on Avoiding Them

When might most other people choose to visit the bank?

Posters for various candidates for the French presidential election Research Brief / Politics

Voters Often Opt for Candidate They Expect to Win

The bandwagon effect boosts the top vote-getter in preliminary rounds

Collage of women forming a larger image of a woman Research Brief / Cultural History

Using Ancestral Characteristics to Study Modern Economics

A database of pre-industrial sampling supports historical and ethnographic research

Person pulling out 5 dollar bill from white envelope Feature / Behavioral Decision Making

Unwelcome Gift Message: ‘I Know You Need Money’

The same gift, with a message on saving the recipient time, is more welcome

Monochrome photo of Wall Street Research Brief / Investing

To Wall Street, There’s No Crisis Like a Banking Crisis

Tyler Muir finds that neither war nor deep recession darkens investor sentiment like sudden turmoil in the financial system

A graph illustration showing the equilibrium of labor supply and labor demand Primer / Minimum Wage

Through the Minimum Wage Looking Glass: Economic Consensus Unrealized

Researchers struggle with faulty study designs, flyspecking each other’s work, re-arguing decades of debate about jobs and income

Woman with a laptop and smartphone Research Brief / Retirement Planning

Thinking Small Could Deliver Bigger Retirement Success for Gig Workers

Daily, weekly and monthly contribution schemes gauge behavior

An illustration featuring text that reads "happiness" and other items such as scissors and a ruler Feature / Happiness

The Unhappy Quest for a Happiness Index

Pushing aside GDP for a measure of human well-being turns out to be very, very difficult. Ask Dan Benjamin

Two men sit on a bench in a scene from the TV show "Silicon Valley." Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

The Role of Chance Encounters in Silicon Valley Innovation

Cellphone signals and patent citations approximate a theory’s long-sought paper trail

Illustration of a young man looking into a mirror, reflecting his older self Feature / Time

The Healthy Upside of Thinking about an Older You

Consciously imagining our older self can spur us to take better care of ourselves now

Person looking at a computer screen Research Brief / E-commerce

That Online Hotel Review You Wrote? It Matters

Consumers’ comments on TripAdvisor are substitutes for traditional ad spending

Detail of a 19-century painting depicting the Battle of Kulikovo (1380 CE). Research Brief / Cultural History

Testing 17 Theories on the Development of Complex Civilizations

Large-scale data project produces stark conclusion: military technology + agricultural productivity caused the takeoff

YouTube on a tablet computer Research Brief / Consumer Behavior

Taking the Battle for Financial Literacy to Where the Eyeballs Are

Research by Bruce Carlin and Stephen Spiller suggests YouTube videos could help consumers make better money decisions