Filter Results:
(1,159)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,721)
- People (1)
- News (265)
- Research (1,159)
- Events (16)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (511)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,721)
- People (1)
- News (265)
- Research (1,159)
- Events (16)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (511)
Sort by
- Research Summary
"I Read Playboy for the Articles": Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences
When people behave in ways that might appear selfish, prejudiced or perverted, they engage a host of strategies designed to justify questionable behavior with rational excuses: “I hired my son because he’s more qualified.” “I promoted Ashley... View Details
- October 2008
- Article
Preferences for Enhancement Pharmaceuticals: The Reluctance to Enhance Fundamental Traits
By: J. Riis, J. Simmons and G. Goodwin
Keywords: Health
Riis, J., J. Simmons, and G. Goodwin. "Preferences for Enhancement Pharmaceuticals: The Reluctance to Enhance Fundamental Traits." Journal of Consumer Research 35, no. 3 (October 2008).
- Article
How Elastic Are Preferences for Redistribution? Evidence from Randomized Survey Experiments
By: Ilyana Kuziemko, Michael I. Norton, Emmanuel Saez and Stefanie Stantcheva
We analyze randomized online survey experiments providing interactive, customized information on U.S. income inequality, the link between top income tax rates and economic growth, and the estate tax. The treatment has large effects on views about inequality but only... View Details
Kuziemko, Ilyana, Michael I. Norton, Emmanuel Saez, and Stefanie Stantcheva. "How Elastic Are Preferences for Redistribution? Evidence from Randomized Survey Experiments." American Economic Review 105, no. 4 (April 2015): 1478–1508.
- 10 Feb 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Government Preferences and SEC Enforcement
Keywords: by Jonas Heese
- Article
The Allure of Unknown Outcomes: Exploring the Role of Uncertainty in the Preference for Potential
By: Daniella Kupor, Zakary L. Tormala and Michael I. Norton
Influence practitioners often highlight a target's achievements (e.g., "she is the city's top-rated chef"), but recent research reveals that highlighting a target's potential (e.g., "she could become the city's top-rated chef") can be more effective. We examine whether... View Details
Kupor, Daniella, Zakary L. Tormala, and Michael I. Norton. "The Allure of Unknown Outcomes: Exploring the Role of Uncertainty in the Preference for Potential." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 55 (November 2014): 210–216.
- June 1983
- Article
Elicitation of Honest Preferences for the Assignment of Individuals to Positions
By: Dutch Leonard
Leonard, Dutch. "Elicitation of Honest Preferences for the Assignment of Individuals to Positions." Journal of Political Economy 91, no. 3 (June 1983): 461–479.
- 03 Jun 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Eliciting Taxpayer Preferences Increases Tax Compliance
- 24 Sep 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
“I read Playboy for the articles”: Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences
Keywords: by Zoë Chance & Michael I. Norton
- 2008
- Chapter
I Read Playboy for the Articles: Justifying and Rationalizing Questionable Preferences
By: Zoe Chance and Michael I. Norton
When people behave in ways that might appear selfish, prejudiced or perverted, they engage in a host of strategies designed to justify questionable behavior with rational excuses: “I hired my son because he's more qualified”; “I promoted Ashley because she does a... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Information, Globalization and Preferences for Economic Policy: Evidence from Randomized Surveys
By: Laura Alfaro, Davin Chor and Maggie Chen
- 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
Small, Deborah A., Devin G. Pope, and Michael I. Norton. "An Age Penalty in Racial Preferences." Social Psychological & Personality Science 3, no. 6 (November 2012): 730–737.
- 2023
- Working Paper
Rising Markups and the Role of Consumer Preferences
By: Hendrik Döpper, Alexander MacKay, Nathan H. Miller and Joel Stiebale
We characterize the evolution of markups for consumer products in the United States
from 2006 to 2019. We use detailed data on prices and quantities for products in more
than 100 distinct product categories to estimate demand systems with flexible... View Details
Keywords: Market Power; Markups; Demand Estimation; Consumer Products; Retailers; Product; Price; Demand and Consumers; Consumer Behavior
Döpper, Hendrik, Alexander MacKay, Nathan H. Miller, and Joel Stiebale. "Rising Markups and the Role of Consumer Preferences." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-025, October 2021. (Revised March 2023. Direct download.)
- 2014
- Article
Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men
By: Alison Wood Brooks, Laura Huang, Sarah Kearney and Fiona Murray
Entrepreneurship is a central path to job creation, economic growth, and prosperity. In the earliest stages of start-up business creation, the matching of entrepreneurial ventures to investors is critically important. The entrepreneur's business proposition and... View Details
Brooks, Alison Wood, Laura Huang, Sarah Kearney, and Fiona Murray. "Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, no. 12 (March 25, 2014): 4427–4431.
- 04 Feb 2009
- Working Paper Summaries
Unravelling in Two-Sided Matching Markets and Similarity of Preferences
Keywords: by Hanna Halaburda
- April 2020
- Article
Field Comparisons of Incentive-Compatible Preference Elicitation Techniques
By: Shawn A. Cole, A. Nilesh Fernando, Daniel Stein and Jeremy Tobacman
Knowledge of consumer demand is important for firms, policy makers, and economists. One common tool for incentive-compatible demand elicitation, the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak (BDM) mechanism, has been widely used in laboratory settings but rarely evaluated for... View Details
Keywords: Incentive-compatible Elicitation; Experimental Methods; Weather Insurance; Rainfall Insurance; Agricultural Extension; Demand and Consumers
Cole, Shawn A., A. Nilesh Fernando, Daniel Stein, and Jeremy Tobacman. "Field Comparisons of Incentive-Compatible Preference Elicitation Techniques." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 172 (April 2020): 33–56.
- December 1988
- Article
Ordinal Independence in Non-Linear Utility Theory
By: Jerry R. Green and Bruno Jullien
Individual behavior under uncertainty is characterized using a new axiom, ordinal independence, which is a weakened form of the von Neumann-Morgcnslern independence axiom. It states that if two distributions share a tail in common, then this tail can be modified... View Details
Keywords: Preferences
Green, Jerry R., and Bruno Jullien. "Ordinal Independence in Non-Linear Utility Theory." Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 1, no. 4 (December 1988): 355–387.
- February 2010
- Article
The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution
By: N. Gregory Mankiw and Matthew C. Weinzierl
Should the income tax include a credit for short taxpayers and a surcharge for tall ones? The standard Utilitarian framework for tax analysis answers this question in the affirmative. Moreover, a plausible parameterization using data on height and wages implies a... View Details
Mankiw, N. Gregory, and Matthew C. Weinzierl. "The Optimal Taxation of Height: A Case Study of Utilitarian Income Redistribution." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2, no. 1 (February 2010): 155–176.
- 2010
- Working Paper
Preference Intensities and Risk Aversion in School Choice: A Laboratory Experiment
By: Flip Klijn, Joana Pais and Marc Vorsatz
We experimentally investigate in the laboratory two prominent mechanisms that are employed in school choice programs to assign students to public schools. We study how individual behavior is influenced by preference intensities and risk aversion. Our main results show... View Details
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Education; Marketplace Matching; Risk and Uncertainty; Behavior; Personal Characteristics
Klijn, Flip, Joana Pais, and Marc Vorsatz. "Preference Intensities and Risk Aversion in School Choice: A Laboratory Experiment." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 10-093, April 2010.
- 16 Jun 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Paying Up for Fair Pay: Consumers Prefer Firms with Lower CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratios
- 2021
- Working Paper
Consuming Contests: Outcome Uncertainty and Spectator Demand for Contest-based Entertainment
By: Patrick J. Ferguson and Karim R. Lakhani
Contests that are designed to be consumed for entertainment by non-contestants are a fixture of economic, cultural and political life. In this paper, we examine whether individuals prefer to consume contests that have more uncertain outcomes. We look to... View Details
Keywords: Contest Design; Information Preferences; Consumer Demand; Sports; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Demand and Consumers; Outcome or Result
Ferguson, Patrick J., and Karim R. Lakhani. "Consuming Contests: Outcome Uncertainty and Spectator Demand for Contest-based Entertainment." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-087, February 2021.