Zvonimir Bašić

Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics at @UofGlasgow & @UofGasbs | Formerly @UniBonn & @eeg_mpi | Behavioral and Experimental Economist

[Soner Başkaya @BaskayaSoner]

University of Glasgow @UofGAsbs is hiring a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Econometrics. Application deadline 12 Dec 2024
See the link to learn more: https://t.co/2AoyTiJJ3D

#Econtwitter
#Economics
#Econometrics
#Academia
#CareerOpportunity
#AdamSmithBusinessSchool

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

Join the Adam Smith Business School (@UofGAsbs @UofGlasgow ) as a Lecturer in Econometrics! Be part of a dynamic and growing research environment, enjoy competitive benefits, and experience life in a vibrant, bustling city.
👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
https://t.co/9EDfrHJb8f

[Zvonimir Bašić @BasicZvonimir]

@SebOSchneider @VerrinaEugenio Thanks, Sebastian!:)

[Zvonimir Bašić @BasicZvonimir]

Really happy that our paper found such an excellent home!🎉

[Journal of Public Economics @JPubEcon]

Just published in @JPubEcon:

"Personal norms — and not only social norms — shape economic behavior"

By @BasicZvonimir (@UofGlasgow) & @VerrinaEugenio (@sciencespo)

https://t.co/KxqqLTBxGU

[Eugenio Verrina @VerrinaEugenio]

Super Happy to see this finally out in print! 🎉

[Zvonimir Bašić @BasicZvonimir]

@juicethemodeler Thanks, Marko!:)

[Zvonimir Bašić @BasicZvonimir]

Thanks a lot, Valerio, for the very kind words!:)

[Valerio Capraro @ValerioCapraro]

Let me tell you why I think this might be the most important paper on social preferences of the decade (after Krupka and Weber, 2013).

A major question in behavioral economics is: how can we explain people’s behavior through a utility function? This question is challenging, even for simple decisions like giving money to a charity.

Classic social preference models based on equity and efficiency have proven to be limited, paving the way for the search for better utility functions.

In the 2000s, behavioral economists began to recognize the importance of incorporating norms into utility functions. Krupka and Weber (2013) eventually proposed a model in which an individual’s utility depends on the “injunctive norm,” i.e., beliefs about what others believe to be the right thing to do. They used this model to explain various regularities in the dictator game, a simple decision problem similar to a charity donation.

This was a significant step forward. However, researchers soon realized that in these contexts, personal norms (individual beliefs about what is right or wrong) may also be playing an important role, perhaps even stronger than injunctive norms.

But there is a major challenge when you try to measure personal norms. If you simply ask people what they believe is the right thing to do after they’ve made a decision, you typically observe a strong correlation. However, this correlation might be driven by the fact that people prefer to present themselves as adhering to personal norms rather than as “puppets” following what others think is right.

Basic and Verrina propose a clever solution to this measurement issue: they assess norms and behavior one month apart to reduce potential biases from this “contagion” effect.

Interestingly, their findings show that in several one-shot, anonymous, and unilateral games, personal norms indeed predict behavior more strongly than injunctive norms.

Instead, when the choice is public, the influence of injunctive norms increases, becoming comparable to that of personal norms.

Additionally, the authors propose a new utility function that combines material self-interest, tendencies to follow personal norms, and tendencies to follow injunctive norms.

I believe this paper makes two significant steps forward in understanding human behavior: it develops a new experimental paradigm to measure the influence of norms on behavior, and it introduces a new utility function.

Admittedly, I have also a selfish reason for particularly appreciating this work: I have been an early advocate for the role of personal norms, introducing a utility function that formalized their role and predicting that personal norms would be the dominant factor in one-shot and anonymous interactions (see https://t.co/htzU3TFt3P).

It is refreshing to see evidence supporting this broad effect. At the same time, Basic and Verrina also highlight the role of injunctive norms, something I did not predict.

This article opens several questions that I think warrant future research. For example:

What happens in multilateral games (where more than one person makes a decision)? The obvious hypothesis is that injunctive norms will play a larger role, as predicting others’ behavior becomes more critical.

What is the role of descriptive norms? I lack a strong intuition here, although several studies suggest that descriptive norms might influence behavior even more than injunctive norms.

Paper: https://t.co/3cCdDCH8pr

Congratulations to Basic (@BasicZvonimir) and Verrina (@VerrinaEugenio) for this outstanding work.

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

📢Applications are now open for the 2024/25 academic year for the MSc in Behavioural Science.

This unique programme is co-run by the Adam Smith Business School and the School of Psychology & Neuroscience.

📢Several full scholarships are available :
https://t.co/6FTdPRX3oL

[Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics @econ_mpi]

We are hiring 2 Postdoctoral Fellows! The positions are for up to 6 years, there is no teaching requirement and come with a generous annual individual research budget. Apply through EJM before November 20th! https://t.co/hjPxOqI3b8 https://t.co/IT5zxmJ5o4

[Eugenio Verrina @VerrinaEugenio]

Thrilled to share that I’ve accepted a Junior Professor position in Experimental and Behavioral Economics at @GATE_LSE (@GATELAB1) & @univ_lyon2! 🥂🎊 Been sitting on this news for a while, but now it’s official. Excited to be back and can’t wait to start this new chapter!! 🏔️🇫🇷

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

Discover the new UK based #BehaviouralEconomics HUB.

We are 20 founding members of the network, from 18 universities (@UofGlasgow one of them) and research institutions in the UK

https://t.co/WeUrGgbNOY

[Zvonimir Bašić @BasicZvonimir]

@sof_andis Big big congrats!:)

[Ivan Romic @_IvanRomic]

Excited to teach at the 3rd FEBT Summer School in Behavioral Economics in Split, Croatia – with @BasicZvonimir, @a_romano90, @fernandopsantos, and many others!

There's still time to apply, so please join us: https://t.co/Bll0BYHTcw

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

The MSc in Behavioural Science is a unique new programme co-run by the Adam Smith Business School and the School of Psychology & Neuroscience.

https://t.co/6FTdPRX3oL

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

We @UofGAsbs have an extra post-job market assistant professor position to fill.

Ideal for people who have been unlucky in the recent junior job market @EconJobMarket

https://t.co/6IxNG6bIa7

[Michele Battisti @michelebattisti]

📢FULLY FUNDED JOINT PHD @UofGlasgow @Sydney_Uni
The Socio-Economic Impacts of Colonialisation in Australia
Supervisors: @michelebattisti @JVidalRobert @MarianVidalFdez and Prof Sayantan Ghosal
Apply by 19 Apr 2024, start Oct 2024
https://t.co/JnmGGsVoR6
Please share widely

[Sebastian O. Schneider @SebOSchneider]

We are hiring - last week to apply

2 PostDoc positions, no teaching, up to 6 years, generous funding, centrally located in Europe in the Bonn/Cologne area

"It's a sabbatical with lots of great colleagues who are also on sabbatical" (@LorenzGoette)

https://t.co/IGJuwps9Hk

[Michele Battisti @michelebattisti]

JOB ALERT
Additional Lecturer/Assistant Professor Position in Economics at the @UofGAsbs More info here:
https://t.co/PACzrRzOyK Deadline 28 April 2024. Please share widely, thank you very much!

[Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics @econ_mpi]

The Experimental Economics and Behavioral Economics groups are looking for 2 full-time Senior Research Fellows (post-doc positions). For more information and to apply: https://t.co/a0PyM3O0JZ #econjobmarket

[Eugenio Proto @eugenioproto]

Pending approval, we're hiring several Lecturers in Applied Economics to continue our expansion @UofGlasgow @UofGAsbs

🌟 Competitive salary
💡 Generous Research Endowment
🏙️ Thriving City

#EconTwitter #econjobmarket #EJM_Positions_Junior

https://t.co/5wuNg61L7Q