Andrea Burro

Job Market Paper

Self-Esteem and Procrastination: Evidence from a Field Experiment (draft available upon request)

Abstract: This study presents causal evidence on the effect of self-esteem on procrastination, using a field experiment with college students. Leveraging a novel high-frequency dataset from a learning app, I randomly assign students to a self-esteem booster, a goal-setting intervention, or a control group, with treatments delivered through weekly notifications. I find that students who receive the self-esteem booster procrastinate less, while the goal-setting intervention has no effect. This effect persist in the months after the intervention, supporting a habit-formation mechanism. The results differ by gender: the self-esteem booster reduces procrastination among male students but reduces study effort among female students.  Finally, students in the self-esteem booster group also report higher self-esteem and lower procrastination in surveys.

Presented at: Ph.D. Seminar, St. Gallen; EER Summer School in Experimental and Behavioral Economics, Rome; The Chicago School in Experimental Economics, Chicago; Advances with Field Experiments (AFE) Conference, Chicago; North-American Economic Science Association (ESA) Meeting, Tucson; Behavioral Economics Lab Group, Chicago Booth; University of Chicago Experimental Group, Chicago; Economics Brown Bag Seminar, St. Gallen; Behavioral Economics Seminar, St. Gallen; SKILS Seminar, Laax; Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab, Chicago Harris; LEAP Lunch Seminar, Bocconi University; Milan PhD Economics Workshop, Bocconi University; Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES) Annual Congress, St. Gallen; European Economic Association (EEA) Meeting, Dublin

Working Papers

The Thin Line: AI Performance Evaluation and Risk Taking (draft available upon request)

Abstract: How do workers react when an AI system replaces human evaluators? I exploit the staggered adoption of Electronic Line Calling (ELC) in professional tennis, a technology that replaces potentially biased human line judges with an accurate automated camera system, in a sample of 13,073 matches, 552 players, and 94 tournaments from 2021 to 2025. Using a fixed-effects design that isolates within-player variation across tournaments with different ELC status, I study the impact of ELC on serve risk taking. I find that ELC reduces the ace rate by 0.50 percentage points (7% of the control mean), the double-fault rate by 0.15 percentage points (4% of the control mean), and raises the first-serve-in rate by 0.39 percentage points (1% of the control mean). Players also react by adjusting the direction of their serves. A model in which human leniency acts as insurance for aggressive play rationalizes these findings and implies that the precision gains from AI monitoring may come at the cost of discouraging productive but risky behavior.

Presented at: PhD Seminar, Bocconi University

Work in Progress

Intergenerational mobility: the role of peers in higher education, with Elisabeth Essbaumer and Beatrix Eugster (data collection in progress)

On the Mechanisms of Ability Peer Effects (with Beatrix Eugster and Valentina Sontheim) (data collection in progress)

In or Out? Goals and Productivity (with Jeremia Stalder) (pilot concluded)

Digital Cupid? Dating Apps, Mental Health, Beliefs and Sorting: Evidence from a Field Experiment (with Matteo Fossi) (pilot in progress)

Loneliness and Time Preferences (with Giovanni Burro) (pilot concluded)

Publications

Are European cities achieving emission reduction commitments? A comparative analysis under the Covenant of Mayors initiative, 

with Benedetta Lucchitta , Valentina Palermo, Giulia Melica, Tania Molteni, Paolo Bertoldi, Edoardo Croci

Helyon, Volume 10, Issue 1, January 2024

Article on unibocconi.it

University of St. Gallen

• Fall 2025: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation (Undergraduate). Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2025: Empirical Research Methods (Undergraduate). Teaching assistant for Beatrix Eugster and Johanna Kutz.

• Fall 2024: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation (Undergraduate). Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2024: Empirical Research Methods (Undergraduate). Teaching assistant for Beatrix Eugster and David Preinerstorfer.

• Fall 2023: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation (Undergraduate). Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2023: Empirical Research Methods (Undergraduate). Teaching Assistant for David Preinerstorfer and Jana Mareckova.