Peer-reviewed publications:

1. Kossuth, Lajos, Nattavudh Powdthavee, Donna Harris and Nick Chater (2020) ‘Does it pay to bet on your favourite to win? Evidence on experienced utility from the 2018 FIFA World Cup experiment’, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 171, pp.35-58. [View]

We study the emotional effects of refraining from emotional hedging during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and find that England supporters' reluctance to hedge against the team's success led to decreased happiness after losses without a compensatory increase after wins, suggesting a tendency to overestimate the cost of betting against their social identity while underestimating the emotional impact of unsuccessful bets on their favorite team.

Working Papers:

1. Gender differences in judicial decisions under incomplete information: Evidence from child support cases. (Under Review at the Journal of Development Economics). Joint with Roberto Asmat [Latest Version].

We compare child support decisions made by female and male judges, and find that female judges allocate lower amounts of child support. This gap can be attributed to differing reliance on plaintiff claims to estimate the defendant's income in cases of labor market informality.

2. Do behavioral drivers matter for healthcare decision-making in times of crisis?: A study of low-income women in El Salvador during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Accepted for Publication at BMC Public Health). Joint with Pedro Bernal, Giuliana Daga and Florencia López Boo [View]. 

We study how behavioral factors affect healthcare decisions among low-income women in El Salvador during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the importance of internal locus of control for preventive health behaviors and the strong associations of impatience, optimism bias, and aspirations on healthcare-seeking behaviors, suggesting implications for future policy responses.

3. “Better safe than sorry”: Behaviorally informed digital campaigns and their association with COVID-19 vaccine interest and take-up in Belize. (Accepted for Publication at BMC Global and Public Health). Joint with Giuliana Daga, Cynthia Boruchowicz, Florencia López Boo and Natalia Largaespada Beer [View].

We analyze behaviorally informed social media campaigns' associations with vaccine uptake in Belize, finding that emphasizing COVID-19 vaccine safety was positively correlated with the uptake of second and booster doses, while highlighting vaccine effectiveness predicted first dose uptake, aligning with previous research. Additionally, positively framed messages about side effects generated more engagement compared to negative ones.

4. The effect of a nationwide public recognition program on teachers' performance: Evidence from a natural field experiment in Peruvian primary schools.  Joint with Alessandro Castagnetti. [AEA Pre-registration] [draft]

The public recognition program 'Destaca Docente' improved teaching performance by 0.18 standard deviations, especially in schools with higher social visibility, among low-scoring teachers, and among those with more experience. Based on Self-determination Theory, the effect is explained by a reduction in low-quality externally regulated motivation and an increase in experiences of autonomy.

Work in progress:

1. "Do More Optimistic Mothers Raise Better-Off Children? A Longitudinal Study in Peru, Ethiopia, India, and Vietnam" 

2. "The unintended effects on intrahousehold violence of the expansion of a mental health program in Peru". Joint with Jimena Romero.

3. "Future of work and automation: does re-framing occupations as their component tasks improve trust in artificial intelligence?". Joint with Isabella Loaiza Saa.