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Understanding individual decision-making to inform policy making Behavioral Economics

In economics, most approaches to analyzing behavior have traditionally been based on the standard neoclassical economic model of behavior, in which an individual is assumed to be a fully rational, self-controlled, and utility-maximizing decisionmaker.

However, it is increasingly recognized that individuals do not always behave in ways that are consistent with this standard model. Behavioral economics applies methods and evidence from other social sciences such as psychology to study economic decisions and behavior. This approach is based on the belief that increasing the realism with which individual behavior is seen will improve the ability to devise effective policies.

Our team uses administrative data, field and laboratory experiments, as well as surveys to understand economic decision-making. In particular, we investigate determinants of tax evasion, the effects of tax audits and other behavioral interventions to increase compliance, and behavioral responses to complexity in tax law.

Behavioral Economics Projects

You Don’t Need an Invoice, Do You? An Online Experiment on Collaborative Tax Evasion

supported by the Gesellschaft für experimentelle Wirtschaftsforschung (GfeW) and the Wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft at the University of Freiburg

LILITH BURGSTALLER and KATHARINA PFEIL


The Effect of Losing and Winning on Cheating and Effort in Repeated Competitions

SARAH NECKER and FABIAN PAETZEL


Notches and Tax Evasion – A Laboratory Experiment

supported by the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft at the University of Freiburg

LARS P. FELD, SARAH NECKER and KATHARINA PFEIL


Do Household Tax Credits Increase the Demand for Legally Provided Services?

supported by the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft at the University of Freiburg and the IREF

LILITH BURGSTALLER, ANNABELLE DOERR and SARAH NECKER


Current publications

2022 You Don’t Need an Invoice, Do You? An Online Experiment on Collaborative Tax Evasion

Freiburger Diskussionspapiere zur Ordnungsökonomik No. 22/6, Walter Eucken Institut, Freiburg, Juni 2022 (mit LILITH BURGSTALLER).

eucken.de

Appearing Working in the Shadow: Survey Techniques for Measuring and Explaining Undeclared Work

Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (im Erscheinen, LILITH BURGSTALLER, LARS P. FELD und KATHARINA PFEIL).

2021 Collaborative Tax Evasion in the Provision of Services to Consumers: A Field Experiment

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Vol. 13, No. 4, November 2021, pp. 185-216 (ANNABELLE DOERR and SARAH NECKER).

aeaweb.org

2021 Monetary Incentives and the Contagion of Unethical Behavior

Freiburg Discussion Papers 21/3 (BENOIT LE MAUX, DAVID MASCLET and SARAH NECKER).

eucken.de

2021 Compliance in außeruniversitären Forschungseinrichtungen

Studie im Rahmen eines Forschungsprojekts, gefördert durch das Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg i.Br., März 2021, 94 pages (LARS P. FELD, SARAH NECKER and KATHARINA PFEIL).

2021 3. Malteser Migrationsbericht – Fakten statt Stimmungslage

Bericht im Auftrag der Malteser Deutschland, Köln, September 2021 (LARS P. FELD and KARHARINA PFEIL).

malteser.de