Applied Seminar: Rebecca Dizon-Ross, University of Chicago

Speaker

Rebecca Dizon-Ross, University of Chicago

Biography

Rebecca Dizon-Ross is an Associate Professor of Economics and the Charles E. Merrill Faculty Scholar at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a development economist with an interest in human capital. Much of her current work aims to understand the determinants of household investment in health and education.

Event Details

Rebecca Dizon Ross will be presenting "Incentivizing Behavioral Change: The Role of Time Preferences."

Many of the agents whom principals incentivize are impatient. We develop a prediction for how to make incentives work particularly well for those who are impatient over effort: implement “time-bundled” contracts that make the payment for future effort increase in current effort. We test this prediction using a randomized evaluation of an incentive program for exercise (walking) among diabetics in India and find empirical support for the prediction. In addition, we find that increasing the frequency of payment – which should be effective if individuals are impatient over payment (rather than effort) – has no effect, suggesting limited impatience over payments. Overall, the incentive program is effective, increasing daily steps by 1300 (13 minutes of brisk walking) and improving health.

To request the Zoom link, please email Heather Royer.