Publications
Brenøe, A., Heursen, L., Ranehill, E. and Weber, R. (2022). Continuous Gender Identity and Economics. AEA Papers and Proceedings, 112: 573-577.
abstract
Economic research on gender largely focuses on biological sex, the binary classification as either a “man” or “woman.” We investigate the value of incorporating a measure of continuous gender identity (CGI) into economics by exploring whether it explains variation in economic preferences and behavior, beyond the explanatory power of binary sex. First, we validate a novel single-item CGI measure in a survey study, showing that it correlates with measures used in gender research. Second, we use our single-item CGI measure in an incentivized laboratory experiment to assess CGI’s power in explaining previously documented gender gaps in four important economic preferences.Heursen,L. (2023). Does Relative Performance Information Lower Group Morale? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 209 (5): 547-559.
abstract
Social comparisons are known to increase individual work morale, but because they could foster competition, they may also negatively impact how well co-workers work together. This paper uses a novel experiment to explore this potential tradeoff. The experiment varies whether members of a reference group receive relative performance information on a knowledge task and measures how this affects the willingness to subsequently help the productivity of others by sharing knowledge with them. The findings reveal that relative performance information spurs competition between members of a reference group when compared to the baseline with no such information. Yet, there is no evidence that relative performance information substantially lowers group morale, that is, the willingness to help the productivity of others in the group. These findings advance our understanding of how relative performance concerns among co-workers affect the way they work together.Working Papers
Heursen, L., Ranehill, E. and Weber, R. (2020). Are Women less Effective Leaders than Men? Evidence from Experiments Using Coordination Games
New version coming soon Reject & Resubmit Economic Journal
abstract
We study whether one reason behind female underrepresentation in leadership is that female leaders are less effective at coordinating action by followers. Two experiments using coordination games investigate whether female leaders are less successful than males in persuading followers to coordinate on efficient equilibria. In this setting, group performance hinges on higher-order beliefs about the leader’s capacity to convince followers to pursue desired actions, making beliefs that women are less effective leaders potentially self-confirming. We find no evidence that such bias impacts actual leadership performance, precisely estimating the absence of a gender leadership gap. We further show that this result is surprising given experts’ priors.Heursen, L., Friess, S. and Chugunova, M. (2023). Reputational Concerns and Advice-Seeking at Work
abstract
We examine the impact of reputational concerns on seeking advice. While advice-seeking can improve performance, it may affect how others perceive the seeker's competence. In a large-sample online experiment with white-collar professionals (N=2,521), we test how individuals navigate this tradeoff and if others' beliefs about competence change it. We manipulate observability of the decision to seek and stereotypes about competence. Results show a sizable and inefficient decline in advice-seeking when observable. Higher-order beliefs about competence cannot mediate this inefficiency. We find no evidence that managers interpret seeking advice negatively, documenting a misconception that may hinder knowledge flows in organizations.Brenøe, A., Heursen, L., Ranehill, E., and Weber, R. (2023). Gender Identity and Economic Decision Making
Haan, P., Heursen, L., Specht, J., Veltri, B., and Weizsäcker, G. (2023). Public Appeals and Collective Crisis Mitigation
Selected Work In Progress
Signed or Not? Feedback Type and Future Performance (with Lorenzo Casaburi)
Manuscript in preparation.
Gender Identity and Economic Decision Making (with Anne Ardila Brenøe, Eva Ranehill and Roberto Weber)
Manuscript in preparation.