Working Papers

Strategic Ignorance and Perceived Control
with Tillmann Eymess, Angelika Budjan, and Alice Soldà

Revise and Resubmit at the Economic Journal

Abstract: Information can trigger unpleasant emotions. As a result, individuals might be tempted to willfully ignore it. We experimentally investigate whether increasing perceived control can mitigate strategic ignorance. Participants from India were presented with a choice to receive information about the health risk associated with air pollution and later asked to recall it. We find that perceived control leads to a substantial improvement in information retention. Moreover, perceived control mostly benefits optimists, who show both a reduction in information avoidance and an increase in information retention. This latter result is confirmed with a US sample. A theoretical framework rationalizes these findings.

Link to working paper

Media coverage: Psychology Today

Relative Income and Preferences for Public Goods
with Tillmann Eymess and Angelika Budjan

Under review

Abstract: Guided by a theoretical framework, we study how perceived relative income affects preferences for public goods. In a randomized survey experiment, we inform respondents from India of their official income rank and elicit preferences for air quality, including actual contributions to environmental initiatives. Right-wing supporters withdraw contributions when perceived relative income increases. The effect coincides with diminished health concerns and lower intentions to utilize private protection measures against air pollution. In contrast, center-left supporters do not reduce contributions. A second survey experiment demonstrates the causality of the relationship using a novel treatment that exogenously shifts relative income perceptions.

Link to working paper

Racial Disparities in Environmental Auditing
with Tom Zeising

Abstract: This paper investigates the role of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in advancing environmental justice through monitoring and enforcement efforts mandated by the Clean Air Act. Our analysis relies on a comprehensive dataset encompassing auditing information from all environmentally relevant plants between 2000 and 2018. Leveraging county-level variation in racial composition and environmental auditing, we find a substantial and persistent reduction in the proportion of inspected plants following increases in the share of non-White population. This decline coincides with a decrease in political activism, particularly among entities typically advocating for more stringent environmental protection.

Media coverage: Ruperto Carola Research Magazine 2025

Local Beliefs, Global Preferences: Zero-Sum Thinking and Support for Redistribution Across Borders
with Diego Marino Fages

Abstract: In our interconnected world, individuals form beliefs in local settings but hold preferences over international policies. This paper studies how zero-sum beliefs about domestic economic interactions influence support for global redistribution. In a pre-registered two-by-two experiment with a representative sample of 2,116 UK adults, we manipulate (i) whether participants adopt a zero-sum or positive-sum view of economic relations, and (ii) whether they are informed of their income rank in the global distribution. Participants then decide whether to donate to an international anti-poverty organization. We find that zero-sum priming significantly reduces support for global redistribution. Information about global income rank has no average effect on donations but significantly moderates the effect of zero-sum beliefs. When individuals are informed about their global income position, the negative effect of zero-sum priming is substantially weakened. A theoretical framework accounts for these findings through cross-domain spillovers: beliefs about local economic conflict reduce moral concern for out-groups unless accompanied by awareness of one’s relative global advantage.