C.V.

Alessandra Cassar

C.V. - October 2024

University of San Francisco 

Department of Economics

2130 Fulton Street

San Francisco, CA 94117-1080 

Email: acassar@usfca.edu 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS:

2015- present Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of San Francisco

2009-2015         Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of San Francisco

2003-2008         Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, University of San Francisco

2001-2003         University of California Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Cruz

OTHER APPOINTMENTS:

2022-present Associate Editor for European Economic Review

2022-present Vice President of North America Economic Science Association (ESA)

2019-present Faculty affiliate at Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA),

University of California at Berkeley

2018-present Research Affiliate at Economic Science Institute, Chapman University

2018-present Director of Econ Lab Without Borders

2020-2022 NSF Panelist

2017-2019         Member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Science Association (ESA)

2003-2013         LEEPS Lab. (Learning and Experimental Economics Projects of Santa Cruz), University of California, Santa Cruz

EDUCATION:

Degree Field           Institution     Year

Ph.D. International Economics University of California, Santa Cruz     2001

M.S. Applied Econ. and Finance  University of California, Santa Cruz     1998

M.A. Economics           Universita’ Bocconi, Milano, Italy     1996

B.A. Economics           Universita’ degli Studi di Parma, Italy     1995

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

• Laboratory and field experiments

• Evolutionary origins of preferences

• Preferences and their role in development 

• Gender – maternal strategies

• Effects of wars and natural disasters on behavior 

• Networks and social capital 

• Microfinance and saving  

RESEARCH

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

• “Maternal depression as catalyst for cooperation: evidence from Uganda.”  Alessandra Cassar, Patricia H. Schneider, Chukwuemeka Ugwu. Evolution and Human Behavior, 2024.

• “Mothers, fathers, and others: Competition and cooperation in the aftermath of conflict.” Alessandra Cassar, Pauline Grosjean, Fatima Jamal Khan, Miranda Lambert. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 215, 207-223, 2023.

• “Sustaining the potential for cooperation as female competitive strategy.” Alessandra Cassar and Mary L. Rigdon. Philosophical Transactions B. 378 (1868), 20210440. 

• “Staying alive includes adaptations for catalyzing cooperation." Alessandra Cassar. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Volume 45 , e133, 2022.

• “The competitive woman: Evolutionary insights and cross-cultural evidence into finding the Femina Economica.” Alessandra Cassar & Y. Jane Zhang. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Volume 197, Pages 447-471, 2022. 

• Prosocial option increases women’s entry into competition. Alessandra Cassar and Mary L. Rigdon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118 (45), Nov 2021.

• “Option to Cooperate Increases Women's Competitiveness and Closes the Gender Gap.” Alessandra Cassar & Mary Rigdon. Evolution and Human Behavior, Volume 42, Issue 6, Pages 556-572, November 2021. 

• “Raising Achievement Among Microentrepreneurs: An Experimental Test of Goals, Incentives, and Support Groups in Medellin, Colombia”. Paulina Aguinaga, Alessandra Cassar, Jennifer Graham, Lauren Skora, and Bruce Wydick. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 161, Pages 79-97, 2019.

• “War Increases Religiosity”. Joseph Henrich, Michal Bauer, Alessandra Cassar, Julie Chytilová, & Benjamin Grant Purzycki. Nature Human Behaviour, Vol. 3, 129–135, 2019.

• “Financial Exclusion in Developed Countries: a Field Experiment Among Migrants and Low-income People in Italy”. Giorgia Barboni, Alessandra Cassar, Timothee Demont. Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Vol. 1, No. 2, 39-49, 2017.

• “Trust, Risk, and Time Preferences After a Natural Disaster: Experimental Evidence from Thailand”. Alessandra Cassar, Andrew Healy and Carl von Kessler. World Development, Vol. 94, pp. 90–105, 2017.

• “Competing for the Benefit of Offspring Eliminates the Gender Gap in Competitiveness”. Alessandra Cassar, Feven Wordofa, and Y. Jane Zhang.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS: May 10, 2016, vol. 113, no. 19, 5201-5205. 

• “Institutional Quality, Culture, and Norms of Cooperation: Experimental Evidence from Italy and Kosovo”. Alessandra Cassar, Giovanna D’Adda and Pauline Grosjean. Forthcoming, Journal of Law and Economics, Vol. 57, 2014. 

• “War’s Enduring Effects on the Development of Egalitarian Motivations and In-group Biases.” Michal Bauer, Alessandra Cassar, Julie Chytilová and Joseph Henrich. Psychological Science, Vol. 25(1) 47 –57, 2014.

• “Do Risky Borrowers Really Invest in Risky Projects? A Test of Stiglitz and Weiss with Bolivian Microfinance.” Alessandra Cassar, Bruce Wydick and Eliana Zeballos. The Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 50(2) 276–287, 2014.

• “Legacies of Violence: Trust and Market Development.” Alessandra Cassar, Pauline Grosjean and Sam Whitt. Journal of Economic Growth, Vol. 18 285–318, 2013.

• “Social Preferences of Ex-Combatants: Survey and Experimental Evidence from Postwar Tajikistan.” Alessandra Cassar, Pauline Grosjean and Sam Whitt. Forthcoming in: The Economics of Conflict: Theory and Empirical Evidence, edited by Karl Wärneryd, MIT Press, 2013.

• “Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard in Joint Liability Loan Contracts: Evidence from an Artefactual Field Experiment.” Giorgia Barboni, Alessandra Cassar, Arturo Rodriguez Trejo and Bruce Wydick. Journal of Economics and Management. Vol. 9(2), 2013.

• “Trust and Trustworthiness in Networked Exchange.” Alessandra Cassar and Mary Rigdon. Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 71(2) 282–303, 2011.

• “A Laboratory Investigation of Networked Markets.” Alessandra Cassar, Daniel Friedman and Patricia Higino Schneider. The Economic Journal, Vol. 120, Issue 547, 919–943, 2010.

• “Does Social Capital Matter? Evidence from a Five-Country Group Lending Experiment”. Alessandra Cassar and Bruce Wydick. Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. 62(4) 715-739, 2010.

• “Cheating in Markets: A Laboratory Investigation.” Alessandra Cassar, Daniel Friedman and Patricia Higino Schneider. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol. 72(1) 240-259, 2009.

• “Spillovers and Growth in a Local Interaction Model.” Alessandra Cassar and Rosella Nicolini. The Annals of Regional Science, Vol. 42(2), 2008.

• “The Effect of Social Capital on Group Loan Repayment: Evidence from Field Experiments.” Alessandra Cassar, Lucas Crowley and Bruce Wydick. The Economic Journal, Vol. 117, Issue 517, F85, 2007.

• “Coordination and Cooperation in Local, Random and Small World Networks: Experimental Evidence.” Alessandra Cassar. Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 58(2) 209-230, 2007.

• “Contagion of Financial Crises under Local and Global Networks.” Alessandra Cassar and Nigel Duffy. In Agent-Based Methods in Economics and Finance: Simulations in Swarm, edited by Francesco Luna and Alessandro Perrone, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. 

BOOK:

• Economics Lab: An Intensive Course in Experimental Economics - by Daniel Friedman and Alessandra Cassar with contributions from Reinhard Selten and others. Routledge Advances in Experimental & Computable Economics, Routledge, 2004.

BOOKS CHAPTERS:

• “Gender, Behavior, and Women’s Economic Empowerment”. CGD Paper. Washington, DC: Center for Global Development. Alessandra Cassar and Elizabeth Katz. 2016.

• “Violence, Conflict-Related.” Alessandra Cassar, Pauline Grosjean and Sam Whitt. Forthcoming, Encyclopedia of Law and Economics edited by Jürgen Backhaus. id: 438460.

• “Contagion of Financial Crises under Local and Global Networks.” Alessandra Cassar and Nigel Duffy. In Agent-Based Methods in Economics and Finance: Simulations in Swarm, edited by Francesco Luna and Alessandro Perrone, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001. 

GRANTS:

• 2022-2024. The World Bank, Development Research Group: Co-PI, with Eeshani Kandpal (The World Bank) and Danila Serra (Texas A&M).

• 2019-2022. 3-year grant from the NSF (National Science Foundation) grant titled: “Gender Differences in Willingness to Compete – Incentive Mechanism Effects” in collaboration with Mary Rigdon.

• 2018. Charles Koch Foundation grant titled: “Does Access to Improved Menstruation Technology (Reusable Pads) Affect Female Outcomes?” to support fieldwork in Sierra Leone. 

• 2017. Charles Koch Foundation grant titled: “Improvement in Sanitary Products for Menstruation and Female Outcomes” to support fieldwork in Nepal. 

• 2016. Charles Koch Foundation grant titled: “Improving Education in Disadvantaged Communities and Decreasing the Gender Gap” to support fieldwork in Colombia, Bosnia, and Togo.

• 2013. Levis Strauss Foundation grant for the project: “Financial Inclusion in a Developed Country: An Experiment about Formal Savings in Italy.”

• 2012. Charles Koch Foundation grant to support students’ research for a project in Zimbabwe and Zambia titled: “Managing Risk through Social Networks in Zimbabwe.”

• 2011. Grant from Title VIII/Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research for the project: “Culture, Institutions and Economic Exchange:  Experimental evidence from Kosovo” in collaboration with Pauline Grosjean.

• 2010. Grant from Title VIII/Department of State, Bureau of Intelligence and Research for “Democracy, Violence, Trust and Economic Preferences: An Empirical Investigation in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan” in collaboration with Pauline Grosjean.

• 2004-2008. Grant from the NSF (National Science Foundation) for “A Laboratory Investigation of Networked Markets.” Alessandra Cassar, Daniel Friedman and Patricia Higino Schneider.

• REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) supplemental funds from National Science Foundation to support undergraduate students. 

• 2004 – present. Funds from the University of San Francisco Faculty Development Funds.

• 2002. Grant from University of California, Santa Cruz for experiments on Social Networks in International Trade.

• 1998-1999. STAR and GSA research grant from University of California, Santa Cruz for experiments on Cooperation and Coordination with Local Interactions.

INTERVIEWS & MEDIA:

• Rocking our Prior, a podcast by Dr Alice Evans: Are Women Less Competitive? Professor Alessandra Cassar

• The Dissenter #764 Alessandra Cassar: Female Competitiveness, Cooperative Breeding, and Market Development: https://youtu.be/IS74XZmBymk?si=PIGcmIZKiPTsF_fZ

• TEDxSanLuisObispo: https://youtu.be/wvVvpER84cw “Women are less competitive than men… and other myths!” 04.22 

MISCELLANEA:

• “An Electronic Calendar Auction.” Alessandra Cassar and Daniel Friedman. White Paper commissioned by OneDayFree, 2000.

• Modelli Teorici e Tests Empirici della Relazione tra Tassi di Cambio e Prezzi all'Esportazione. Alessandra Cassar. 1996 Prize “Luigi Casati” by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei for Best Undergraduate Thesis.

DISSERTATION:

Title: Local, Random, and Small-World Networks: Economic Consequences for Coordination, Cooperation, and Contagion. September 2001. Principal Advisor: Professor Daniel Friedman. 

SUMMER SCHOOLS:

• Soleto, Italy, Summer school in experimental Economics. 2024. Invited lecturer.

• Max Plank Institute, Berlin summer school 2022. Invited lecturer.

• CEBEX Summer School on Behavioral Sciences, 2020, 2021. Invited lecturer.

• Santa Fe’ Institute Summer Graduate Workshop. Summer 2010 - Invited lecturer at the Santa Fe’ Institute Summer Graduate Workshop (on experimental methods and research on warfare and social preferences in children). 

• Trento Summer School. Assistant lecturer at the Second Trento Summer School: Intensive Course in Experimental Economics. University of Trento, Italy, Summer 2001. 

• Santa Fe’ Institute.  1999 Summer School in Computational Economics. Project: “Simulating Financial Crises in Local-Interactions Models of Artificial Economies.”

REVIEWER:

American Economic Review; American Journal of Agricultural Economics; British Journal of Political Science; Computational & Mathematical Organization Theory; Conflict Management and Peace Science; Econometrica; Economic Development and Cultural Change; Experimental Economics; European Economic Review; Economic Inquiry; Economic Journal; Evolutionary Human Science; Evolution and Human Behavior; Games and Economic Behavior; Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation; Journal of Business, Economics and Finance; Journal of Comparative Economics; Journal of Conflict Resolution; Journal of Development Studies; Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization; Journal of the European Economic Association; Journal of Human Resources; Journal of International Economics; Journal of Legal Studies; Journal of Economic Geography; Journal of African Economies; Journal of Public Economics; Management Science; Nature; National Science Foundation; Oxford Economic Papers; PLOS One; Review of Economic Studies; Southern Economic Journal; Social Networks; World Bank Economic Review; World Development.

FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS AND HONORS:

• NEEPS Award, 2022 

• Dean Turpin Award for undergraduate research; 

• University of California Postdoctoral Faculty Fellowship, June 2001 - June 2003;

• Fellowship “Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation,” 1996;

• First Prize “Luigi Casati” for Best Undergraduate Thesis by Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, 1996;

• Fellowship from “Universita’ degli Studi di Parma,” 1995;

• Fellowship “O.N.A.O.S.I.,” 1996-2000.

TEACHING

COURSES TAUGHT AT UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO:

• Graduate Seminar

• Economics as an Experimental Science 

• Principles of Macroeconomics 

• Economic Methods

• Mathematics for Economists

COURSES TAUGHT AT UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ:

• Economics and Management of Technology and Innovation

• Advanced Quantitative Methods

• Applied Econometric Analysis I

THESIS ADVISING:

Thesis advisor of:

Name Project Country

Mansi Kalra Intergenerational transmission trauma Uganda

Faheema Eissar Women abducted Uganda

Anchal Khandelwal Women abducted Uganda

Lauren Lamson Preferences in Matrilocal & Patrilocal Solomon Islands

Myrtille Genot Preferences in Matrilocal & Patrilocal Solomon Islands

Bethany Gerdermann Preferences in Polygyny & Monogamy Sierra Leone

Ashwini Shridhar Menstruation management Sierra Leone

Madison Levine Menstruation management Sierra Leone

Okkar Mandalay Gender risk gap Myanmar

Nneoma Nwobilor Women empowerment program Nigeria

Imuetinyan Aiguwurhuo Women empowerment program Nigeria

Emeka Ugwu Maternal health and social networks Uganda 

Anjali Limbu Menstruation management Nepal

Theodore Wisinski School incentives Colombia

Daniel Salicath School incentives Colombia

Aminata Cissokho Female competitiveness Togo

Miranda Lambert Female competitiveness Colombia

Boris Jokic Female competitiveness Bosnia

Elnaz Safarha School incentives for street children Iran

Mwape Chalansi Social networks & schooling Zambia

Tobias Sytsma Genetic markers risk tolerance Bangladesh

Feven Wordofa Gender difference in competition China

Stephanie Chou Gender difference in competition China

Yilin Gao Gender difference in competition China

Jennifer Graham Group & incentives for poverty reduction Colombia

Paulina Aguinaga Group & incentives for poverty reduction Colombia

Lauren Skora Group & incentives for poverty reduction Colombia

Daniel McKay Mafia & entrepreneurship Italy

Bem Andzenge Governance & trust Italy

James Boyle Income redistribution Kosovo

Kyle Martin Conflict & trust Kosovo

Nicholas Weiss Trust Kosovo

Travis Wiggans Markets Kosovo

Alexandra Gosh Civil war & trust Tajikistan

Lexi Russell Civil war & trust Tajikistan

Deanna Karapetyan Civil war & social preferences Sierra Leone

Priyanka Talwar Civil war & social preferences Sierra Leone

Nathan Cutler Micro-health insurance Cambodia

Greg Donheiser Micro-health insurance Cambodia

Frank Hoffman Micro-health insurance Cambodia 

Patrick Madigan Micro-health insurance Cambodia

Joshua Holtrust Natural disaster & trust preferences Thailand

Carl von Kessler Natural disaster & risk time preferences Thailand

Tuan Anh Phan Natural disaster & risk preferences Thailand

Bassel Zinaty Natural disaster & time preferences Thailand

Eliana Zeballos Microfinance Bolivia

Arturo Rodriguez Microfinance Bolivia

Jean Paul Petraud Microfinance India

Luke Crowley Microfinance Armenia

David M. Thompson Microfinance Guatemala

Oliver J. Trimiew               Microfinance Kenya

Il Hong Yoo Microfinance Philippines

Gaute Farner Female education Egypt

Carolina Herrera Displacement South Africa

Katie Hubner Rawls in field exp. India & Panama

Leonard Kang Trust games and group lending Philippines

Rohit Kapuria Governance Nigeria

Lukas Musil Subsidized housing Czech Republic

Javier S. Ortiz Corruption and stealing Columbia

Rede Shifferaw    Medical doctors’ brain drain Ethiopia

Jessica Varney Yield insurance Peru

Jessica Zuzik Children & Violence Burkina Faso

Andrea Calabria Regional growth Italy

SERVICE

SERVICE TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS:

• Director of M.S. IDEC (Master of Science in International and Development Economics);

• Organizer of the Economic Department Seminar Series, 2006-2019;

• Member of the Economic Faculty Search Committee in 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2013-2014, 2016-2017;

• Organizer of IDEC Oral Defenses, 2012-present;

• Reviewer for IDEC program, 2008-present; 

• Contributor to external review document for the WASC accreditation process, 2013-2014;

• Co-coordinator for the drafting of the Department of Economics learning outcomes for the WASC accreditation process, 2004-2005; 

• Faculty mentor to Asst. Prof. Jesse Anttila-Hughes, 2012-present;

• Faculty mentor to Asst. Prof. Pauline Grosjean, 2008-2011;

• Faculty mentor to Asst. Prof. Jennifer Alix-Garcia, 2007-2009; 

• Faculty mentor to Adj. Prof. Seema Arora, 2008-2009; 

• Faculty supervisor of the Experimental Economics Club, 2006;

SERVICE TO THE COLLEGE:

• Committee member in the Internationalization Task Force FABI

• Committee member of Student Research and Scholarly Activity Committee

• Organizer of the Day of Celebration of Students’ Research and Artistic and Scholarly Creative Activity 2011-present (CARD – Creative Activity and Research Day);

• Co-Chair of the Academic Excellence Task Force on student research, 2012-present;

• Co-chair Undergraduate Research Committee, 2010-2012;

• University of San Francisco team member for CUR (Council on Undergraduate Research). Initial meeting at California State University, Northridge; 15-17 February 2008. 2008-2010; 

SERVICE TO THE PROFESSION: 

• Vice President of North America Economic Science Association (ESA)

• Associate Editor for European Economic Review, 2022-present

• NSF Panelist 2019-2021

• ESA mentor 2020-present

• UC Berkeley, CEGA mentor

• Member of the Executive Committee of the Economic Science Association (ESA) 2017-2019

• Founder in 2009 of the networking group of experimental and behavioral economists of the Bay Area---University of San Francisco, UC Berkely, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University, San Francisco State University, Stanford. Organizer of the yearly BABEEW - Bay Area Behavioral and Experimental Economics Workshop:

o UC Santa Cruz, May 2010

o UC Berkeley, May 2011

o Santa Clara University, May 2012

o University of San Francisco, May 2013

o Stanford University, May 2014

o University of California, Santa Cruz, May 2015

o UC Berkeley, May 2016

o Santa Clara University, May 2017

o University of San Francisco, May 2018

o University of San Francisco, May 2019

o Zoom, May 2020

       Member of the Fulbright U.S. Student National Screening Committee;

• Ph.D. Commette Member for Giorgia Barboni (Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna);