Peer-reviewed publications:
Asmat, Roberto; and Lajos Kossuth (2025). Gender differences in judicial decisions under incomplete information: Evidence from child support cases. Journal of Development Economics, 179. [View]
Daga, Giuliana; Lajos Kossuth; Cynthia Boruchowicz; Florencia López Boo; and Natalia Largaespada Beer (2024). Behaviorally informed digital campaigns and their association with social media engagement and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Belize. BMC Global and Public Health, 2, 71 [View]
Bernal, Pedro; Giuliana Daga; Lajos Kossuth; and Florencia López Boo (2024). Do behavioral drivers matter for healthcare decision-making during crises? A study of low-income women in El Salvador during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMC Public Health, 24, 2122. [View]
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]
Working Papers:
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 (Under Review at the Journal of Political Economy). [Link] [AEA Pre-registration]
We conduct a nationwide Randomized Control Trial in 140 Peruvian primary schools to test the impact of the ‘Destaca Docente’ public recognition program on teachers’ perfor mance, as measured by an established index of teaching quality. Our primary finding indicates that the prospect of receiving a future public recognition award results in an
improvement of approximately 0.19 standard deviations in the performance evaluation. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the underlying mechanism of improved perfor mance is driven by increased teachers’ motivation following the announcement. In particular, teachers experience a shift from less to more self-determined and autonomous forms of behavior regulation, as per the predictions of Self-Determination Theory. This result is particularly significant in schools with greater social visibility and teachers with more experience, and appear to be persistent even two years after the intervention. The results shed light on the conditions under which awards can enhance employee performance.
Work in progress:
"Do More Optimistic Mothers Raise Better-Off Children? A Longitudinal Study in Peru, Ethiopia, India, and Vietnam"
"The unintended effects on intrahousehold violence of the expansion of a mental health program in Peru". Joint with Jimena Romero.
"Future of work and automation: does re-framing occupations as their component tasks improve trust in artificial intelligence?". Joint with Isabella Loaiza Saa.