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What behavioural economics can teach us about prevention: another way of fighting Covid-19
Bauer, Michal ; Chytilová, Julie
Every one of us can help limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus today, through our everyday behaviour. Research from behavioural science to date has shown how individuals, private organizations and state institutions can all contribute to changes in behaviour that are effective in prevention. Thanks to the studies that have been carried out so far, we know quite a lot about how the virus spreads most frequently and what kinds of behaviour are most effective in preventing that spread. Washing our hands with soap, avoiding touching our faces and stifling any coughs or sneezes into the air are all very effective. However, research has shown that simply being informed about all this is not sufficient for people to change their behaviour. People have a tendency to forget, which is enhanced by tiredness and inattention, many people also tend to procrastinate and not to do things even though they are aware of wanting to do them. Furthermore, it is difficult to change our long-established habits. Most existing research into behavioural prevention is, quite naturally, from developing countries, where the spread of infectious diseases has been a more topical problem than in the economically developed countries. These studies have shown that frequent, simple reminders can be very beneficial. Making hand-washing facilities available to the public does not mean that people will use them. Their placement within the public space and their visibility play a key role. We must think carefully about how to create an environment in which the target\nbehaviour is easily carried out, people are constantly reminded of it, and it gradually becomes automatic. Our habits, which are very hard for us to shake off, often act as a barrier to regular, proper hand-washing at home. People tend to wash their hands too quickly and not thoroughly enough. Even when we know how to wash our hands properly, doing so systematically, several times a day for twenty seconds at a time is no easy task.
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Essays in Behavioral Economics
Vuletić Ćugalj, Danijela ; Bauer, Michal (advisor) ; Lacetera, Nicola (referee) ; Macis, Mario (referee)
xi Abstract In the first essay, I study the effects of reminders and frames designed to invoke higher levels of empathy and altruistic motives on the willingness to donate blood. I conduct a randomized field experiment with 3,236 blood donors from Bosnia and Herzegovina to test how effective frames are when used in letters soliciting blood donation. Further, I test the effectiveness of the letter itself, which served as a specific reminder, making the need for blood more salient. My baseline group did not receive any letter, while another seven groups received letters that differed in terms of goal framing; whether a specific "victim" was identified; and the gender of a "victim". I find that a reminder of the need for blood in the form of a simple letter increases the probability of donating blood by 6.44 percentage points (62%) relative to the baseline group, suggesting that reminder letters may serve as a cost-effective policy tool. At the same time, I find that the framing of the letter had relatively little effect. The second essay provides the first evidence of the existence of gender-based favoritism in life-saving decisions to donate blood. In a field experiment with blood donors from Bosnia and Herzegovina, I exogenously manipulate the signal of a blood recipient's gender by adding his/her name and...
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An Application of Islamic Banking Principles in Azerbaijan
Mammadli, Sabina ; Teplý, Petr (advisor) ; Bauer, Michal (referee)
This master thesis examines key differences between Islamic and conventional banks. We use a data on 2374 banks from 47 countries for the 2010-2016 period. We apply comparative statistical analysis, Ordinary Least Squares regression and System Generalized Method of Moments to estimate the effects of both bank types on their profitability and stability. The contribution of the thesis is threefold. First, we find a significantly higher profitability of Islamic banks compared to conventional ones. Second, we did not find any evidence that Islamic banks are less stable. Finally, we conclude that the women participation in financial activities is correlated with the development of conventional, not Islamic, banks JEL Classification G21, C33, F33, F34, J11 Keywords Islamic banking, bank profitability, bank stability, gender participation Author's e-mail Sabina.mammadli@hotmail.com Supervisor's e-mail Petr.teply@fsv.cuni.cz Master's Thesis Proposal Institute of Economic Studies Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University in Prague Author: Bc. Sabina Mammadli Supervisor: Doc. PhDr. Petr Teplý, PhD. E-mail: Sabina.mammadli@hotmail.c om E-mail: Petr.teply@fsv.cuni.cz Phone: 608 550 236 Phone: 222 112 326 Specializatio n: CSF Defense Planned: June 2017 Proposed Topic: An Application of Islamic Banking Principles in...
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Income Shocks and Ethnic Group Bias
Hruban, Jiří ; Bauer, Michal (advisor) ; Horváth, Roman (referee)
Diploma Thesis Abstract JEL Classification Z13, O12, O13, Z91 Keywords income shock, endogeneity, ethnicity, instrumental variables Title Income Shocks and Ethnic Group Bias Author's e-mail 61618416@fsv.cuni.cz Supervisor's e-mail bauerm@fsv.cuni.cz Abstract The thesis explores how individual income shocks impact ethnic group bias using a survey dataset from Uganda and meteorological data. Previous research has shown that the majority of civil conflicts break down along ethnic lines, and that ethnic tribalism harms economic performance of countries. A better understanding of the causal mechanism behind ethnic bias could help alleviate both of those problems. The author finds that income shocks have no measurable effect on ethnic out-group bias, but they might influence ethnic in-group bias. Since the regression of ethnic bias variables on income proxies likely suffers from endogeneity, the author employs the copula endogeneity correction model, which, however, does not prove to perform well with a binary dependent variable. In addition, the author demonstrates that ethnic group bias is most likely not directly influenced by variations in rainfall and that instrumenting for income with rainfall variation leads to non- robust results with even a small violations of model assumptions.
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