Andrea Burro

Job Market Paper

Self-Esteem and Procrastination: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Abstract: Commitment devices are a common solution for procrastination, yet evidence on their effectiveness is mixed. These interventions assume that procrastination reflects a lack of self-control. The theory of self-handicapping procrastination points to a different cause: people procrastinate to protect their self-image, because procrastination can be used as an excuse in case of failure. This tendency is stronger for people with low self-esteem, who have strong incentives to protect their self-image, so raising self-esteem should reduce procrastination. I test this mechanism in a field experiment with 2,774 university students. Students are randomly assigned to a self-esteem booster that praises students for their study time, a goal-setting intervention, an information treatment, or a control group. All treatments are delivered through weekly notifications in a learning app. Using novel high-frequency data on study effort from the app, I find that only the self-esteem booster increases study effort. I also show that the results are not driven by increased salience of the app. The effects persist one semester after the intervention, which suggests habit formation. A model in which self-esteem shapes time preferences formalizes the mechanism. Survey data support this channel: students in the self-esteem booster group report higher self-esteem and less procrastination.

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; 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; European Association for Labour Economists (EALE) Conference, Barcelona; European Economic Science Association (ESA) Meeting, Barcelona; Swiss Education Network Workshop, St. Gallen; Innovation Growth Lab (IGL); BeNA Labor and Education Economics Workshop, Berlin (scheduled); Economics Brown Bag Seminar, Lugano (scheduled)

Working Papers

The Thin Line: AI Performance Evaluation and Risk-Taking

Abstract: How does replacing human evaluators with AI affect workers’ risk-taking? I develop a model in which human leniency reduces the expected cost of risky strategies by allowing some mistakes to go unpenalized. Removing this leniency through AI evaluation lowers risk-taking. To test the model, I exploit the staggered adoption of Electronic Line Calling(ELC), an AI-based camera system that replaces human line judges in professional tennis. The sample includes 12,891 matches, 233 players, and 94 tournaments from 2021 to 2025. I compare the same player across tournaments with and without ELC. I find that ELC reduces the ace rate and the double-fault rate, and raises the first-serve-in rate. Players also change where they aim their serves, which shows that the effects reflect a change in behavior rather than a mechanical consequence of more accurate calls.

Presented at: PhD Seminar, Bocconi University; SEW-HSG Quant Workshop (scheduled)

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)

Pre-Doctoral 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 - Undergraduate

• Fall 2026: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation.

Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Fall 2026: Personnel Economics.

Teaching assistant for Beatrix Eugster.

• Fall 2026: Microeconomics.

Teaching assistant for Magnus Hoffmann.

• Fall 2025: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation.

Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2025: Empirical Research Methods.

Teaching assistant for Beatrix Eugster and Johanna Kutz.

• Fall 2024: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation.

Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2024: Empirical Research Methods.

Teaching assistant for Beatrix Eugster and David Preinerstorfer.

• Fall 2023: Data Handling: Import, Cleaning and Visualisation.

Teaching assistant for Aurelien Sallin.

• Spring 2023: Empirical Research Methods.

Teaching Assistant for David Preinerstorfer and Jana Mareckova.