La tesi presenta alcuni dei risultati di un esperimento longitudinale condotto in due carceri statunitensi tra settembre 2015 e giugno 2016. L’obiettivo dell’analisi è testare lo studio delle preferenze sociali nella cornice dell’Economia Comportamentale e della teoria dei giochi (osservazione diretta del comportamento dei soggetti chiamati a compiere delle scelte in alcune situazioni selezionate), piuttosto che attraverso risposte a questionari auto valutativi. Infatti vengono messe in relazione i comportamenti osservati nei giochi e le spiegazioni che i soggetti intervistati danno di essi. Attraverso analisi statistica si può arrivare a dire che i comportamenti osservati nei giochi non sono sempre sufficienti per evidenziare le preferenze sociali dei soggetti, così come, del resto, non lo sono le risposte narrative. La conclusione che viene tratta dall’elaborato è che osservazione diretta dei comportamenti e analisi delle narrative personali dei soggetti sono due elementi ugualmente importanti per la comprensione delle preferenze sociali e che, lungi dall’escludersi a vicenda, si completano. / The thesis presents some of the results of a longitudinal experiment conducted in two U.S. prisons between September 2015 and June 2016. The objective of the analysis is to test the efficacy of studying social preferences in the framework of behavioral Economics and game theory (direct observation of the behaviour of the subjects asked to make choices in real situations), rather than through self-evaluative questionnaires and surveys. In fact, the analysis links the behaviors observed in the games and the explanations given by the subjects. In general it can be said that the behaviors observed in the games are not always sufficient to highlight the social preferences of the subjects, as well as, moreover, are not the narrative answers. The conclusion that comes from the elaborate is that direct observation of the behaviors and analysis of the personal narratives of the subjects are two equally important tools in the study social preferences and that, far from being mutually exclusive, they complement each other.

The understanding that humans are bounded in their rationality has been proven to manifest in complex decision making as a result of a limit in the amount of information available, the cognitive limitations of the mind and the amount of time available in which to make a decision. Because of this, humans have been known to appeal to heuristics and the rules of thumb (termed 'satisficing‘) when making decisions, resulting in biased probability judgments and not maximizing expected utility. Corporate application of bounded rationality is still very limited. This study builds on and advances the study and application of bounded rationality in corporate environments, using climate change response as a real-life situation, and in a circular fashion help explain some of the debates and paradoxes that agitate researchers from the climate change community. Using a mixed methods comparative case study of two organisations‘ responses to climate change, the study theorises that competitive market forces and the ability of organisations to learn from other organisations limits the levels of 'satisficing‘ in strategic decision making. Instead, the limited amount of information and the fear of the unknown cause organizations to approach the subject cautiously. A tactical interpretive climate change response framework emerges. / Business Management / D.B.L.

Sweden is known for being at the forefront of becoming a cashless society.However, cash continues to be an important part of the payment ecosystem butthere are limited studies and data regarding the preference for holding cash. Previousstudies have shown that the use of cash is declining with regards to comers and thatthere are behavior differences between cultures and sociodemographic groups inregards to characteristics and preferences for payment methods. The aim of thisstudy was to investigate the informational attributes that drives the preference forholding cash by studying two extreme cases, Sweden which is a pioneer of cashlesssociety, and Germany which is one of the most conservative cash-intensivecountries in the Western world. Primary quantitative data was derived fromstandardized questionnaires issued in both countries by Loomis AB; the data wasdescribed and analyzed with applicable statistical procedures. A multivariate analysiswas performed on a specific segment of the collected data were the respondents hadbeen asked to rate cash associated statements based on their agreeableness towardsthem. These segments were then examined through a Principal component analysisto determine the underlying dimensions regarding preferences for cash. Our resultssuggest that Germans withdrew cash more frequently, from a wider spectrum ofdenominations and carried it to a larger extend than Swedes. Swedes made limitedwithdrawals, of small denominations and preferred to carry smaller amounts of cash.The results also show that there were differences in the perception and preferencesfor cash between sociodemographic groups, with e.g. older age groups being used to itand the youngest using it due to ‘status quo bias’. The main conclusions include thatthe informational attributes such as security, anonymity, ease of use and paymentinfrastructure was the main drives for the preferences of holding cash. / Sverige är känt för att vara i framkanten gällande transformationen till att bli ettkontantlöst samhälle. Kontanter fortsätter dock att vara en viktig del avbetalningsekosystemet, men det finns begränsade studier och data om preferensenför att hålla kontanter. Tidigare studier har visat att användningen av kontanterminskat i dagligvaru- och sällanköpshandeln och att det finns beteendeskillnadermellan kulturer och sociodemografiska grupper med avseende på egenskaper ochpreferenser för betalningsmetoder. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka deinformativa attribut som driver preferensen för att hålla pengar genom att studeratvå extrema fall, Sverige som är en pionjär gällande det kontantlösa samhället ochTyskland som är ett av de mest konservativa kontantanvändande länderna ivästvärlden. Kvantitativa data härleddes från standardiserade frågeformulärutfärdade i de båda länderna av Loomis AB; data beskrevs och analyserades medtillämpliga statistiska förfaranden, mer specifikt en multivariantanalys som gjordespå ett visst segment av de insamlade uppgifterna, där de svarande blev ombedda attbedöma kontantanvändningen genom associerade uttalanden baserat på derasöverensstämmelse med dem. Dessa segment undersöktes sedan genom enhuvudkomponentanalys för att bestämma de underliggande dimensionerna gällandepreferenser för kontanter. Våra resultat tyder på att tyskar tar ut pengar merfrekvent, från ett bredare spektrum av valörer och bär i större utsträckning merkontanter än svenskar. Svenskar har en begränsad uttagsfrekvens, främst av småvalörer samt att de föredrar att bära kontanter i en liten utsträckning. Fortsatt visarResultaten att det fanns skillnader i perception och preferenser för kontanter mellansociodemografiska grupper, exempelvis är äldre åldersgrupper vana vidkontantanvändning och att de yngre åldersgrupperna använder kontanter på grundav "status quo bias". De viktigaste slutsatserna är att de informativa attribut somsäkerhet, anonymitet, användarvänlighet och betalningsinfrastruktur är de viktigastedrivkrafterna gällande preferensen att hålla kontanter.

This pilot study has the twofold purpose of analyzing the effect of XAI explanations on the mental models of economic games participants, and testing the feasibility of the methodology devised for it. To achieve this, we compared the contribution behavior and mental models of 30 participants playing a public good game. Playing in pairs, a total of 10 participants played in each of three different conditions: i) a condition with a decision support system providing suggestions for contributions; ii) a condition with the decision support system and explanations for its suggestions; iii) a control condition. Upon finishing the game, all participants completed a Retrospection Task questionnaire to elicit their mental models about the game’s goals and partner’s behavior. Our results showed differences in the contribution behavior and mental models of the participants between the three conditions, with the condition with explanations presenting consistently higher contributions and participants reporting prosocial attitudes. Through these findings, this pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of the methodology and argues for the need of a larger-scale study to further investigate the effect of XAI explanations on the users’ mental models. / Denna pilotstudie har det dubbla syftet att analysera effekten av XAI-förklaringar på de mentala representationerna hos deltagarna i ekonomiska spel och att testa genomförbarheten av den metod som utarbetats för studien. För att uppnå detta jämförde vi bidragsbeteendet och de mentala representationerna hos 30 deltagare som spelade ett spel om kollektiva nyttigheter. Totalt 10 deltagare spelade parvis i var och en av tre olika behandlingar: i) en med ett beslutsstödsystem som ger förslag på bidrag, ii) en med beslutsstödsystemet och förklaringar till dess förslag, iii) en kontrollgrupp. Efter att ha avslutat spelet fyllde alla deltagare i ett frågeformulär om en retrospektionsuppgift för att utvärdera deras mentala representationer om spelets mål och partnerns beteende. Våra resultat visade skillnader i deltagarnas bidragsbeteende och mentala modeller mellan de tre behandlingarna, där behandlingen med förklaringar presenterade genomgående högre bidrag och deltagare som rapporterade prosociala attityder. Genom dessa resultat visar den här pilotstudien att metoden är genomförbar och argumenterar för behovet av en studie i större skala för att ytterligare undersöka effekten av XAI-förklaringar på användarnas mentala modeller.

<h2><br></h2> <p>This dissertation consists of distinct but related essays that delve into the impacts of changing economic conditions and climate mitigation policies on household consumption, health, and welfare outcomes. The first essay examines the effect of variations in economic factors, such as home values, on unhealthy consumption behaviors in the U.S. The second essay examines the distributional effects and possible health advantages of climate mitigation policies in India. The findings in this dissertation have significant implications for preventive health and environmental justice policies, particularly concerning vulnerable populations. </p> <p>The first essay of this dissertation investigates the impact of home value fluctuations on household tobacco and alcohol consumption in the U.S., specifically focusing on consumption based on homeownership status. First, we utilize high-frequency household transaction panel data and ZIP code-level home values to estimate the causal effect of home value fluctuations (or the housing wealth effect) on household tobacco and alcohol consumption for all U.S. households. Second, we predict household homeownership status by supplementing our primary household panel transaction data with a secondary household survey dataset; this allowed us to estimate the housing wealth effect separately for homeowners and renters. Home values are a leading economic indicator and effectively represent variation in housing wealth, whereas prior literature mainly focuses on lagging economic indicators, such as the unemployment rate. Housing wealth is a significant component of household net worth in the U.S. We leverage temporal and geographic fluctuations in household transactions and local home values to show that changes in housing wealth have a causal effect on household tobacco and alcohol consumption. Our findings show that declining home values increase tobacco and alcohol consumption among homeowners, with no effect on renters. Beer and cigarettes mainly drive this effect. Declining home values substantially increase annual consumption of nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, and alcohol by volume, exacerbating public health concerns. In contrast, unemployment shocks increase tobacco and alcohol consumption among homeowners and decrease it among renters. The housing wealth effect is most pronounced among bubble states households, heavy-use consumers, low-income, and white households. The study emphasizes the importance of targeted policy interventions to mitigate the negative effects of fluctuations in housing wealth on unhealthy consumption, especially amid the current unpredictable economic environment and volatile real estate market. </p> <p>The second essay of this dissertation analyzes the distributional impacts of climate mitigation policies consistent with India’s 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution and 2070 net-zero target, using a dynamic global computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with heterogeneous Indian households. Specifically, we expand the CGE model to incorporate ten rural and ten urban household income deciles. Additionally, we link the CGE model with a global atmospheric source-receptor model to derive health co-benefits from reduced premature mortality due to lower air pollution. Several policy levers are considered in this study, including carbon pricing, enhanced coal consumption tax (or coal cess), and fossil subsidies phaseout. These are further combined with five alternative revenue recycling options. Our results suggest the potential welfare costs of such mitigation policies are rather moderate and do not exceed 0.5% over 2023-2050, not accounting for health and environmental co-benefits and damages avoided by successfully limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C. However, health co-benefits from lower air pollution can potentially outweigh the mitigation costs. Combining carbon pricing and fossil subsidy removal is more efficient than carbon pricing alone, generating progressive medium-term welfare gains due to reduced market distortions. Raising coal cess rates is the least efficient policy. Inequality and distributional impacts vary significantly based on the chosen revenue recycling approach. Equal transfer of tax revenue across households proves to be the most efficient and equitable, followed by labor tax subsidies, leading to a Gini index and S20/S80 ratio reduction of 0.01%-1.7% and 0.1%-7%, respectively. Recycling revenues to stimulate green energy investments yields the least favorable distributional impacts and worsens inequality. Trade-offs exist between reducing inequality and fostering investment-driven economic growth when choosing revenue recycling options. Policymakers should prioritize policy mixes and revenue-recycling methods based on their objectives to effectively combat climate change while promoting sustainable growth and reducing income inequality in India. </p>

This short paper considers all possible stakeholders in different stages of a sustainability transition and matches their behavioral features and diversity to policies. This will involve an assessment of potential or expected responses of stakeholders to a range of policy instruments. Following the Multi-Level Perspective framework to conceptualize sustainability transitions, we classify the various transition policies at niche, regime and landscape levels. Next, we offer a complementary classification of policies based on a distinction between social preferences and bounded rationality. The paper identifies many barriers to making a sustainability transition and how to respond to them. In addition, lessons are drawn from the case of Denmark. The detailed framework and associated literature for the analysis was discussed in Milestone 31 of the WWWforEurope project (Gazheli et al., 2012). / Series: WWWforEurope

Pour certaines maladies causées par des agents chimiques, biologiques, radiologiques et nucléaires (CBRN), il n’existe pas de contre-mesures médicales (MedCM) et bon nombre de celles qui existent pourraient ne pas être disponibles en cas de besoin. En cas d’accident CBRN, des efforts inadéquats de financement de la R&D et de mise à disposition par les gouvernements peuvent avoir de graves conséquences économiques nettement supérieures aux coûts d’initiatives préventives. Compte-tenu des contraintes budgétaires auxquelles de nombreux gouvernements sont confrontés, il est nécessaire de définir des priorités. Parallèlement à la mise en place d’indicateurs de décision de santé efficaces qui identifient et mesurent les effets de causalité de l’impact négatif sur la santé, le processus de décision doit également prendre en considération le rapport coût-efficacité pour rendre le financement durable.Cette thèse a pour objectif de définir une voie vers une politique économique de santé publique visant à renforcer la disponibilité des MedCM pour les agents CBRN. Dans la première partie, les causes des défaillances du marché sont identifiées (lorsque les opportunités de profit ne compensent pas l’effort de R&D nécessaire). Dans la deuxième partie, des études de cas illustrent les caractéristiques et les conséquences économiques d’exemples d’accidents CBRN et des scénarios sont analysés afin de mettre en évidence comment la disponibilité de MedCM pourrait potentiellement devenir rentable. Enfin, la troisième partie propose des approches plus complètes pour mesurer et compenser les facteurs contribuant à la défaillance du marché en appliquant des modèles économiques spécifiques. / For some diseases caused by chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) agents, innovative medical countermeasures (MedCMs) do not exist while many of those that do might not be readily available. In case of a CBRN event, inappropriate medical research and development (R&D) funding and government procurement efforts can result in adverse economic consequences (e.g. lost income) far exceeding the costs of strong and comprehensive preparedness initiatives. Given the budgetary constraints many governments face, priorities must be defined. Parallel to determining effective health decision metrics that identify and weigh the causal effects of negative health impact, decision making must also consider cost-effectiveness to make funding sustainable. Moreover, international cooperation is necessary since the risks increasingly transcend borders due to global travel and the global threat of terrorism. This dissertation ultimately seeks to define a path to public health economic policy to enhance the international availability of CBRN MedCMs. In Part I, the root causes of market failure are identified and depicted (i.e., where rewards for supply do not adequately compensate for the R&D effort). In Part II, case study examples illustrate the characteristics and economic consequences of CBRN incidents. Scenarios for each case are outlined to show where the availability of MedCMs in these situations could potentially be cost-effective. Finally, Part III construes more comprehensive approaches for gauging and offsetting the deterrence factors of market supply and demand by compiling and applying additional economic models and frameworks.

Questa tesi di dottorato si pone come scopo lo studio della relazione complessa tra produttività e collaborazione scientifica sia di tipo formale sia informale. L’approccio che è adottato cerca di superare il classico trade-off che emerge dalla letteratura sulle reti e sulla teoria dei giochi; infatti, questa tesi rappresenta il tentativo di sviluppare una sintesi dell’approccio micro e macro allo studio delle collaborazioni scientifiche. A tal fine, il classico bagaglio metodologico è stato arricchito utilizzando tecniche di analisi complementari, quali l’analisi delle reti (e.g.: indici di centralità delle reti e coefficienti di clustering), l’econometria (e.g.: modelli di regressione ZIP e modelli di regressione troncati) ed infine l’economia sperimentale (e.g.: esperimenti in laboratorio). In particolare, sono state prese in considerazione due diverse comunità scientifiche con lo scopo di porre in evidenza le caratteristiche che le contraddistinguono: la comunità dei Geografi Top e la comunità degli Economisti italiani. Questa tesi è strutturata con il fine ultimo di porre in evidenza il ruolo che gli incentivi individuali degli scienziati parte della rete giocano nel modellare le strutture di collaborazione all’interno della rete stessa; ma, allo stesso tempo, nell’influenzare la propria produttività scientifica. Questa tesi è composta da tre diversi elaborati, ciascuno dei quali guarda al fenomeno della collaborazione e della produzione scientifica seguendo prospettive differenti, per permettermi di mettere in evidenza il ruolo giocato da quattro pilastri (i.e.: reti, comunità scientifiche, comportamenti collaborativi, incentivi individuali e conseguenze collettive) sulla base dei quali si fondano le strutture e la dinamica del “mondo della scienza”. / The aim of this thesis is to study the complex relationship between scientific productivity and (formal and informal) scientific collaborations. We follow an approach which goes beyond the classical trade-off that emerged from the literature around networks studies and game theory, in the attempt of developing a synthesis between a micro and a macro approach. In doing so, we enrich the toolset of available methodologies by adopting instruments which are typical of Network Analysis (e.g.: networks’ indices of centrality and clustering), Econometrics (e.g.: ZIP and Censored regressions), and Experimental Economics (e.g.: Laboratory experiments). In particular, we look at two different scientific communities, in order to capture different characteristics of the networks: the community of Top geographers, and the community of Italian economists. This thesis is structured with a view to emphasising the role that the incentives which move scientists within their network of collaboration play on shaping the network itself, but also on influencing their scientific productivity. The thesis is composed of three different essays, each of which approaches the phenomena of scientific production and collaboration from different perspectives, allowing me to highlight the role played by four basic components (i.e.: networks, scientific communities, collaborative behaviours, individual incentives and collective outcomes) in shaping the structure and dynamics of the “world of science”.

In March 2018 the European Commission published the Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth. One of the main objectives with the actions presented in the action plan is to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investments, i.e. to influence more investors to invest sustainably. The action plan was followed by three proposals for transparency regulation regarding an EU taxonomy on sustainability, sustainability benchmarks and sustainability disclosures. Furthermore, the action plan included actions regarding two other transparency measures – sustainability labels and sustainability ratings. The first purpose of the thesis is to investigate if transparency regulation in the EU can be used as a tool to influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. One of the main aims of the actions presented in the Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth, as well as the accompanying regulation proposals, is to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investments, i.e. to influence more investors to invest sustainably. In light of this, the Commission’s three proposed transparency regulations, as well as the concept of sustainability labels and ratings, are used as a basis for the investigation. The second purpose of the thesis is therefore to critically review the three regulation proposals and the concept of sustainability labels and ratings in order to gain an understanding of how different transparency measures can influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. The transparency regulations and measures are analysed and critically reviewed in light of their objective to influence more investors to invest sustainably. A behavioural economics perspective, as well as consumer behaviour theories and decision-making models, are applied in order to analyse the transparency regulations and measures from an external perspective. Based on the analysis there are many indicators that transparency regulation can be used as a tool to influence investors to choose sustainable investment funds. However, to what extent transparency regulation can influence investor behaviour varies depending on which transparency measures are used and how they are designed. Sustainability benchmarks seem to have the least potential to influence investor behaviour, while the EU taxonomy on sustainability and sustainability labels seem to have the best potential to influence investor behaviour.