Topic: Behavioral Economics
Pay Transparency: Will It Help or Hurt Workers?
Many assume salary transparency will benefit employees, but research suggests downsides, too
Online Reviews Sway Experiential Purchases Less Than Those of Material Products
Reviews that explicitly talk about objective quality assessments are well received
Offering Free Upgrades Early to Manage Inventory and Boost Profit
Waiting until one product model runs out can be a costly mistake
Not All Second Chances Are Good Ones
Hengchen Dai finds that hitting the reset button can help those who have recently struggled, but erodes the motivation and execution of top performers
New Appreciation for a Classic Stock Market Gauge
The relationship between short- and longer-term moving averages has strong predictive power for share price returns
Motivation to Begin or an Excuse to Slack Off?
Fresh-start dates can serve as either — it’s a two-way nudge
Motivating Households in India to Reduce Energy Consumption
The same message that works with U.S. households is effective in the developing world
Momentum Investing: It Works, But Why?
After a quarter century of sprawling study, it’s time to narrow the focus and settle on an explanation
Maximizing Retirement Savings: More Nudging Required
Tweaking 401(k) website design and language can significantly boost worker contributions, yet HR doesn’t always see these opportunities
Lifelong Decisions Based on a Momentary Mood
Fatigue during a morning class dissuades some from rewarding majors
Lack of Urgency Can Undermine a Popular Behavioral Nudge
Encouraging pre-commitment to a future behavior helps people do hard things — but it can backfire
Kids Who Moved from Public Housing More Likely to Vote as Adults
Demolition of Chicago projects dispersed thousands to other areas
It’s OK if the Boss Earns More, but a Problem When Co-Workers Do
Study of a large corporation explores how salary comparisons affect employee behavior
Is Anyone Happy about the College Textbook Market?
Buyers find the tomes heavy, costly and too frequently revised, while sellers might like to kill the used book market entirely
Is Amazon’s Fake Review Response 94 Days Too Late?
Phony posts are largely very short-term campaigns
Institutions Make Mistakes: Which Should We Seek to Prevent; Which Ought We Fix After the Fact?
In experiments, people endorsed seemingly harsh policies — only to reverse course after the fact