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, finding 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. Does Incomplete Information Attenuate Gender Differences in Judicial Decisions? Evidence from Child Support Cases (Reject & Resubmit at The Economic Journal). Joint with Roberto Asmat [View].

We compare child support decisions made by female and male judges, finding that female judges set lower awards, with this gap attributed to differing reliance on plaintiff claims to estimate the defendant's income in cases of labor market informality.

2. “Better safe than sorry”: Behaviorally informed digital campaigns and their association with COVID-19 vaccine interest and take-up in Belize (2nd Revise & Resubmit at BMC Global and Public Health). Joint with Giuliana Daga, Cynthia Boruchowicz and Florencia López Boo [View].

We analyze behaviorally informed social media campaigns' impact on 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.

3. 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 (Revise & Resubmit 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.

Work in progress:

1. "The effect of non-monetary incentives on teachers´ performance and educational outcomes: evidence from a Clustered RCT in Peruvian schools". Joint with Alessandro Castagnetti. [AEA Pre-registration]

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

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