Clément S. Bellet

Hi! I am an Assistant Professor at the School of Economics of Erasmus University Rotterdam. My work bridges behavioral economics and marketing research. I use causal inference methods, large-scale data, and field and online experiments to study questions at the intersection of business, society and consumer markets. My research focuses on three key areas:

Gender and Consumer Markets: I analyze gender dynamics in advertising, consumer purchases, and market segmentation.
Consumption and Inequality: I examine how inequality affects consumer needs, luxury markets, and status signaling.
Customer Satisfaction and Worker Well-Being: I study customer-worker interactions to understand the link between customer satisfaction, worker well-being and firm performance.

[google scholar] [X] [BSky] [linkedin]

Research interests: Behavioral Economics, Quantitative Marketing, Causal Inference, Inequality, Gender, Emotions

Publications

Does Inequality Affect the Needs of the Poor? (with Eve Colson-Sihra)Journal of the European Economic Association, 2025, 23(4): 1272-1308

Abstract: We investigate how inequality affects what is considered most necessary to purchase. Combining detailed consumption surveys in India with an instrumental variable approach, we first provide evidence that inequality is associated with a decrease in calorie consumption for poor households. This effect is driven by upward comparisons and associated with poor households spending more on luxuries, consistent with relative deprivation theory. We then estimate a structural demand system to isolate the impact of inequality on needs from supply-side effects. We find that inequality increases the need of the poor for "little luxuries" (e.g., dairy products, energy use) at the expense of necessities (e.g., cereals). This shift in the hierarchy of needs accounts for more than two third of the decline in the calorie consumption of the poor over the period.

[Published Version, Working Paper]

Do Consumers Respond to Social Movements? Evidence from Gender-Stereotypical Purchases After #MeToo (with David Dubois and Frédéric Godart)Management Science, 2025, 71(6):4915-41

Abstract: This paper explores whether and how consumers respond to global social movements challenging systemic discrimination and stereotypes. We examine the impact of the #MeToo movement on the market for products with stereotypical markers of femininity. Our analysis of high-frequency stockout and price data from a leading global fashion retailer spans from January 2017 to December 2018 and covers 32 countries, or 89% of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) population. Using a triple-difference approach across time, countries, and products, we identify changes in product-level stockouts, corresponding to a drop in the purchase of stereotypically “feminine” items. Our findings suggest a sudden shift in demand, with no immediate adjustments in product assortments or pricing. We discuss potential driving mechanisms, as well as implications for product management and marketing in marketplaces where segmentation is gender based.

[Publisher Version, Working Paper]

Selected Media/Reviews: Fashion Network, INSEAD Knowledge, 15' Video (English)

The McMansion Effect: Positional Externalities in U.S. SuburbsJournal of Public Economics, 2024, 238:1051-74.

Abstract: This paper examines how the construction of very large homes — or “McMansions” — in U.S. suburbs affects homeowners’ satisfaction and housing behavior. Combining three decades of survey data with geolocated information on three million suburban houses, I find that homeowners exposed to newly constructed, large houses report lower satisfaction with their own homes, while their neighborhood satisfaction remains unaffected. This effect is contingent on the visual salience of McMansions, as indicated by their proximity to roads. Homeowners exposed to new-built McMansions are more likely to expand their own homes and take on more debt.

[Publisher Version, Working Paper]

Selected Media/Reviews: The Atlantic, The Times, Newsweek, EUR News

Does Employee Happiness Have an Impact on Productivity? (with Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and George Ward)Management Science, 2024, 70(3):1656-79

Abstract: This paper provides evidence from a natural experiment on the relationship between positive affect and productivity. We link highly detailed administrative data on the behaviors and performance of all telesales workers at a large telecommunications company with survey reports of employee happiness that we collected on a weekly basis. We use variation in worker mood arising from visual exposure to weather—the interaction between call center architecture and outdoor weather conditions—to provide a quasi-experimental test of the effect of happiness on productivity. We find evidence of a positive impact on sales performance, which is driven by changes in labor productivity—largely through workers converting more calls into sales and to a lesser extent by making more calls per hour and adhering more closely to their schedule. We find no evidence in our setting of effects on measures of high-frequency labor supply such as attendance and break-taking.

[Publisher Version, Working Paper]

Selected Media: The Economist, Forbes

Working Papers

Quantifying Gender Representation in TV Advertising (with Martina Pocchiari)

Abstract: Advertising plays a crucial role in shaping gender norms, with the potential to either promote inclusivity or reinforce gender stereotypes. This paper examines gender representation in TV advertising using comprehensive unstructured text data describing all TV advertising content in the United States since 2010. We quantify two dimensions of gender representation: which gender is represented as a role model, and the context in which genders are represented. We take a dual approach (data-driven and survey-based) to quantify these dimensions. We find that female role models have been represented relatively more than male role models only in product categories reflecting traditional gender roles, and relatively less in all other categories. Even when male and female role models were represented in nonnormative categories, they were placed in contexts that reflected the prevalent gender norm (e.g., women role models in automotive ads were represented in heavily male contexts). We discuss that some of these representations align with the identities of the target audiences and the actual consumers. However, we also highlight instances where gender representations diverge from audience and consumer identities and discuss potential explanations for these discrepancies.

[Working Paper]

How Sticky Are Consumption Stereotypes? Evidence from the Meat Gender Gap (with Eve Colson-Sihra)

Abstract: Using consumer surveys and supermarket purchase data, this study uncovers a persistent gender gap in meat consumption between men and women in the U.S. To explore whether this disparity is driven by gender stereotypes, we design a representative survey of 1,000 U.S. respondents that assess the roles of attitudes, beliefs, and implicit biases in shaping meat consumption patterns. We find that this gap can be explained by gender-stereotypical beliefs, rather than gender differences in environmental, health, or ethical concerns. We also elicit a strong implicit bias linking meat consumption with masculinity. In a second survey of 4,500 respondents, we evaluate the stickiness of these consumption stereotypes to interventions aimed at activating the gender-meat association or priming gender identity.

[Draft Available on Request, Pre-Registered RCT]

Measuring Consumer Visual Interest Using Millions of Text and Image Searches (with Abhishek Borah and David Dubois)

Abstract: Despite the importance of visual information for consumer decision-making, quantifying consumer visual interest for brands and products across markets and over time remains arduous. This paper introduces Excess Image Search (EIS) as a new behavioral, high-frequency, time- and space-varying, and easy-to-implement measure of visual interest. Analyzing about 134.8 million records of online searches in the U.S. car market (55 brands, 659 car models), we probe EIS’s internal validity by showing that a brand’s or product’s EIS strongly correlates to measures of visual salience at the brand level (e.g., consumer ratings of brand visibility) or product level (e.g., style, logo). Turning to EIS’s external validity, we examine how the local presence or relevance of visible consumption affects a brand’s or product’s EIS. First, shocks weakening visible consumption locally, namely (1) COVID-19 lockdown-induced social distancing and (2) adverse weather, trigger a drop in EIS in high- (not low-) density states. Second, we estimate the sensitivity of EIS to changes in price signals in the used car market. A rise in product price increases the product’s EIS the following week, an effect arising in unequal states, where visible consumption is more sought after. Our main results replicate with a sample of apparel brands.

[Working Paper]

Local Comparisons and Inequality Aversion Among the Business Elite (with Dylan Glover and Mark Stabile)

Abstract: Using a unique international sample of nearly 1,000 top managers and executives, we investigate whether the business elite may be effectively stimulated to think critically about inequality, and how. Through an online survey experiment, we remind individuals of their elite financial status within close members of their family, former classmates or colleagues. Our treatment leads respondents to build a more equal hypothetical society. We find an 18% drop in the income share allocated to the richest 1%. Results are consistent with a model in which high earners suffer disutility when reminded of advantageous inequality with known members of their reference groups. While treated respondents do not favor a change in tax scheme, when asked to allocate some of their own income between redistributive taxation and donations, they show higher tolerance to taxation. Our findings provide insight on how top managers and executives can be stimulated to favor a more equal society.

[Draft available on request]

Previously circulated as CEPR Discussion Paper n°16489 under the title Perceived Inequality and Preferences for Redistribution Among High Earners: Do Reference Groups Matter?

In Progress

Gender-Based Marketing and Ad Effectiveness (with Martina Pocchiari)
Emotional Labor: Evidence from Millions of Service Interactions
Driving Status (with Teodora Tsankova)

Books and Reports

Big Data and Wellbeing: An Economic Perspective (with Paul Frijters)

World Happiness Report, 2019: Chapter 6

This chapter provides a general review and discussion of the debate surrounding Big Data and well-being. We ask four main questions: Is Big Data very new or very old? How well can we now predict individual and aggregate well-being with Big Data, and to what extent do novel measurement tools complement survey-based measures? Is Big Data responsible for the rising interest in well-being or a threat to it? What are the economic and societal consequences of Big Data, and is there a point to government regulation of ownership, access, and consent?

[Ethics of Digital Wellbeing][World Happiness Report Website][Chapter 6]

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