Essays in Experimental Economics
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis has three chapters and employs experimental methods to study human behaviour. Chapter 1 presents a framed interactive online experiment conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The experiment studies social distancing using a repeated game where subjects interact in groups of 5 on a fixed network. We find that both the network position and the disease contagiousness matter for social distancing. Furthermore, fines for non-adherence to social distancing are effective at promoting this behaviour, whereas informational nudges have a limited impact. Finally, we find that political ideology is strongly correlated with subjects’ distancing choices. Instrumental variable (IV) analysis suggests that ideology in the US may be causally related to one’s propensity to practice social distancing, with political conservatives exhibiting lower adherence. Chapter 2 builds upon the methods and findings of Chapter 1. Here, we study the effectiveness of contact tracing and quarantine programs aimed at containing the spread of infectious diseases, and further investigate the role of political ideology in driving behaviour in the US. Using a dynamic game, we investigate the relative effectiveness of mandatory and optional tracing and quarantine regimes. We find that a system where both contact tracing and quarantine are mandatory works best. However, even a fully optional program is better than no program at all, but making only one element mandatory has no added benefit. Interestingly, none of the programs have a consistent long-run effect on economic activity. Using a pre-registered IV, we find that political ideology is causally related to behaviour. Political conservatives are less likely to reduce their economic activity and sign up to the contact tracing programs. Using simulations, we show that this heterogeneity may be important for welfare of ideologically homogeneous groups. Chapter 3 presents a laboratory experiment studying …
abstract: This thesis has three chapters and employs experimental methods to study human behaviour. Chapter 1 presents a framed interactive online experiment conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The experiment studies social distancing using a repeated game where subjects interact in groups of 5 on a fixed network. We find that both the network position and the disease contagiousness matter for social distancing. Furthermore, fines for non-adherence to social distancing are effective at promoting this behaviour, whereas informational nudges have a limited impact. Finally, we find that political ideology is strongly correlated with subjects’ distancing choices. Instrumental variable (IV) analysis suggests that ideology in the US may be causally related to one’s propensity to practice social distancing, with political conservatives exhibiting lower adherence. Chapter 2 builds upon the methods and findings of Chapter 1. Here, we study the effectiveness of contact tracing and quarantine programs aimed at containing the spread of infectious diseases, and further investigate the role of political ideology in driving behaviour in the US. Using a dynamic game, we investigate the relative effectiveness of mandatory and optional tracing and quarantine regimes. We find that a system where both contact tracing and quarantine are mandatory works best. However, even a fully optional program is better than no program at all, but making only one element mandatory has no added benefit. Interestingly, none of the programs have a consistent long-run effect on economic activity. Using a pre-registered IV, we find that political ideology is causally related to behaviour. Political conservatives are less likely to reduce their economic activity and sign up to the contact tracing programs. Using simulations, we show that this heterogeneity may be important for welfare of ideologically homogeneous groups. Chapter 3 presents a laboratory experiment studying …
author: Barak-Halatova, Darija
language: eng
keywords: behavioural game theory, Belief formation, experiment, framed experiment, policy intervention, strategic thinking
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/25699673-9417-47e0-86f4-ab1ee2309624/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2023-09-30
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:16Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.109496