Welcome to my page! I am a PhD student at the School of Business and Economics at the University of Tübingen (Germany), where I am fortunate to be co-advised by Prof. Dr. Kerstin Pull and Prof. Dr. Patrick Kampkötter.
My research interests lie in the areas of behavioral economics, information economics, decision theory, and accounting. More specifically, I am interested in using self-reported quantitative data and field experiments (correspondence tests) to causally identify the role of an applicant's information in selection decisions and the role of social media information to better understand how to prevent discrimination.
Published Papers
#Inviteme: Can Social Media Information Reduce Discrimination? Evidence from a Field Experiment (with Christian Manger & Kerstin Pull)
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (2023)
Abstract: We study whether and to what extent social media information can reduce (ethnic) discrimination in a two-sided market characterized by asymmetric information. We analyze whether information that breaks with prevailing ethnic stereotypes might induce the uninformed side of the market to update its probabilistic beliefs on a desired, but hidden quality of an ethnic minority applicant. We create eight social media profiles (male and female) and apply for 3,676 vacant room ads for shared housing on a two-sided platform. The profiles are each identical within one gender, except for the different names assigned to them: two profiles of each gender are assigned a Turkish-sounding name, two a German-sounding name. To each application, we randomly assign one of the eight names and whether it contains a link to the corresponding social media profile. When an application includes such a link, the otherwise substantial discrimination against applicants with Turkish-sounding names is not only significantly reduced, but almost eliminated — hinting at the potential of social media information that breaks with prevailing stereotypes to reduce (statistical) discrimination.Somebody that I want to know: The non-monotonic effect of personality information on ethnic and gender discrimination in the market for shared housing (with Christian Manger)
Journal of Housing Economics (2022)
Abstract: We conducted a correspondence test to identify the determinants and extent of ethnic discrimination in the market for shared housing in Germany. We establish a link between information about an applicant’s personality and her performance in the housing market. About 2,000 fictitious applications with randomly assigned German-, or Turkish-sounding, female or male names, with or without additional personality information were sent to vacant room ads. While the callback rate for German-sounding names is 52 percent, it drops to 37 percent for Turkish-sounding names. Female applicants receive significantly more callbacks than their male counterparts. Additional personality information is particularly beneficial to the group with the highest callback rate (German females) and the group with the lowest callback rate (Turkish males). Thus, personality information reduce the ethnic gap between Turkish and German males, whereas the gap among females increases. A simple theoretical model shows that the strong effect of information on German females can be explained by aggregation over rooms that differ in market tightness. Moreover, advertisers who only accept applications of one particular gender discriminate significantly more against Turkish applicants.
Work in Progress
The Visual Narrative: The Effects of Visual Stereotypes on Social Media on Ethnic Discrimination (with Christian Manger & Kerstin Pull)
Abstract: We conduct a correspondence test in the housing market to determine the extent of ethnic discrimination and the role of stereotypes expressed through images posted on a social media platform. Fictitious applications with a randomly assigned Turkish- or German-sounding male name are sent to vacant room ads. We randomly add a link to a social media profile to determine the effect of such personal information on callback rates. This social media profile may either foster or not foster Turkish male stereotypes. Some of the social media profiles include additional visual material (photos and videos) that signal religious beliefs and cultural orientation to identify the role of visual stereotypes on ethnic discrimination. We carefully constructed these fictional social media accounts on Instagram to make them as realistic as possible, and conducted several surveys among young people to ensure that the profiles were close to reality with a sufficient number of followers. In addition, we can approximate whether landlords or roommates visit these profiles and exploit this information using statistics on profile visits and page impressions.Non-Financial ESG targets in Executive Compensation (with Matthias Efing, Stefanie Ehmann & Patrick Kampkötter)
Selection and the Role of Personality (with Kerstin Pull & Sonja Utz)
Additional Study: Personality & Social Networks: A Field Experiment on Social Media