Publications

November 2012
Article

An Age Penalty in Racial Preferences

By: Deborah A. Small, Devin G. Pope and Michael I. Norton

We document an age penalty in racial discrimination: charitable behavior toward African American children decreases-and negative stereotypical inferences increase-with the age of those children. Using data from an online charity that solicits donations for school... View Details

Keywords: Stereotyping; Charitable Giving; Prejudice; Prosocial Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Age; Race; Prejudice and Bias

24 Sep 2008
Working Paper Summaries

CEO and CFO Career Penalties to Missing Quarterly Analysts Forecasts

Keywords: by Rick Mergenthaler, Shiva Rajgopal & Suraj Srinivasan

2008
Working Paper

CEO and CFO Career Penalties to Missing Quarterly Analysts Forecasts

By: Rick Mergenthaler, Shiva Rajgopal and Suraj Srinivasan

We find that missing the quarterly analyst consensus earnings forecast is associated with career penalties in the form of a reduced bonus, smaller equity grants, and a greater chance of forced dismissal for both CEOs and CFOs during the period 1993-2004. These results... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Managerial Roles; Personal Development and Career

SSRN

2017
Performance & Appearance

Hair Penalties and Other Organizational Sins: Racism Disguised as Professionalism

March 2020
Article

Which Early Withdrawal Penalty Attracts the Most Deposits to a Commitment Savings Account?

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian and Jung Sakong

Previous research has shown that some people voluntarily use commitment contracts that restrict their own choice sets. We study how people divide money between two accounts: a liquid account that permits unrestricted withdrawals and a commitment account that is... View Details

Keywords: Quasi-hyperbolic Discounting; Present Bias; Sophistication; Naiveté; Commitment; Flexibility; Savings; Contract Design; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); IRA; Saving; Behavior; Contracts; Design; Interest Rates

August 20, 2024
Article

Sexual Assault Victims Face a Penalty for Adjacent Consent

By: Jillian J. Jordan and Roseanna Sommers

Across 11 experimental studies (n = 12,257), we show that female victims of sexual assault are blamed more and seen as less morally virtuous if their assault follows voluntary sexual intimacy, a factor we term “adjacent consent”. Moreover, we illuminate a... View Details

Keywords: Perception; Prejudice and Bias; Moral Sensibility; Crime and Corruption; Social Issues

17 Sep 2018
Working Paper Summaries

The Impact of Penalties for Wrong Answers on the Gender Gap in Test Scores

Keywords: by Katherine B. Coffman and David Klinowski; Education

Article

The Impact of Penalties for Wrong Answers on the Gender Gap in Test Scores

By: Katherine B. Coffman and David Klinowski

Multiple-choice exams play a critical role in university admissions across the world. A key question is whether imposing penalties for wrong answers on these exams deters guessing from women more than men, disadvantaging female test-takers. We consider data from a... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Economics; Standardized Testing; Gender; Higher Education; Prejudice and Bias

06 Feb 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Subjectivity in Tournaments: Implicit Rewards and Penalties and Subsequent Performance

Keywords: by Wei Cai and Susanna Gallani; Manufacturing

September–October 2018
Article

The Paradox of Responsive Authoritarianism: How Civic Activism Spurs Environmental Penalties in China

By: Christopher Marquis and Yanhua Bird

Recognizing the need to better understand institutional change processes in authoritarian states, which play an increasingly prominent role in the world economy, we examine the efficacy of civic activism aimed at spurring governmental action concerning the... View Details

Keywords: Civic Activism; Authoritarianism; Regulation; Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Business and Government Relations; Social Issues; Change; China

Register to Read

Research Summary

Monetary and Non-monetary Incentives

By: Susanna Gallani

In this line of research, Prof. Gallani explores the interplay between monetary and non-monetary incentives in organization. In particular, she explores the effectiveness of non-monetary motivation mechanisms, including mission statements and company values, feedback,... View Details

Keywords: Non-monetary Rewards; Rewards And Penalties; Feedback; Span Of Support; Social Pressure

09 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Most Accountants Aren’t Crooks—Why Good Audits Go Bad

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, signed into law last July, is the government's response to a series of financial reporting scandals that rocked investors. Among other measures the law offers up stiff criminal penalties for accounting... View Details

Keywords: by Max H. Bazerman, George Loewenstein & Don A. Moore; Accounting; Financial Services

2016
Working Paper

Experimental Evidence on Policies Aimed at Closing the Gender Gap in Willingness to Guess on Multiple-Choice Tests

By: Katherine Baldiga Coffman

Research has shown that women skip more questions than men on multiple-choice tests with penalties for wrong answers. We propose and test five policy changes aimed at eliminating this source of gender bias in test scores. Our data show that simply removing the penalty... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Gender

December 2004 (Revised August 2007)
Background Note

LTCM's Profit Motive

By: Henry B. Reiling and Kevin Wall

This case summarizes the finding and reasoning inherent in the economic substance and penalty imposition holdings of the district court decision in Long Term Capital Holdings v. United States. The court upheld the IRS's contention that a transaction between Long Term... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Laws and Statutes; United States

01 Jul 2011
News

Environment: Virtue or Else

06 Oct 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Optimal Illiquidity

Keywords: by John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson, and Brigitte C. Madrian

March 2025
Article

Optimal Illiquidity

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We study the socially optimal level of illiquidity in an economy populated by households with taste shocks and present bias with naive beliefs. The government chooses mandatory contributions to accounts, each with a different pre-retirement withdrawal penalty.... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Financial Liquidity; Personal Finance; Saving

February 2014
Article

Gender Differences in Willingness to Guess

By: Katherine Baldiga Coffman

We present the results of an experiment that explores whether women are less willing than men to guess on multiple-choice tests. Our test consists of practice questions from SAT II subject tests; we vary whether a penalty is imposed for a wrong answer and the salience... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Decision Making; Microeconomic Behavior; Education Systems; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Gender; Economics

2022
Working Paper

Optimal Illiquidity

By: John Beshears, James J. Choi, Christopher Clayton, Christopher Harris, David Laibson and Brigitte C. Madrian

We calculate the socially optimal level of illiquidity in an economy populated by households with taste shocks and naive present bias. The government chooses mandatory contributions to accounts, each witha different pre-retirement withdrawal penalty. Collected... View Details

Keywords: Illiquidity; Commitment; Flexibility; Savings; Social Security; Retirement; Government Legislation; Taxation; Saving