CRC Rationality & Competition
@rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Collaborative Research Center (CRC TRR 190) funded by the German Research Foundation; our focus is on competitive behavior by individuals and firms in cases where rationality may be limited.
Website: http://rationality-and-competition.de
Website: http://rationality-and-competition.de
Reposted by CRC Rationality & Competition
📢 The Call for Papers for the 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗶𝗳𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀, organized by @klaus-m-schmidt.bsky.social & Ernst Fehr is now open!
Keynotes: Supreet Kaur & @philippstrack.bsky.social
📆 𝟮𝟯 - 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
ℹ️https://www.ifo.de/cesifo/f9G
In cooperation with @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Keynotes: Supreet Kaur & @philippstrack.bsky.social
📆 𝟮𝟯 - 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
ℹ️https://www.ifo.de/cesifo/f9G
In cooperation with @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
February 6, 2026 at 10:14 AM
📢 The Call for Papers for the 𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗶𝗳𝗼 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀, organized by @klaus-m-schmidt.bsky.social & Ernst Fehr is now open!
Keynotes: Supreet Kaur & @philippstrack.bsky.social
📆 𝟮𝟯 - 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
ℹ️https://www.ifo.de/cesifo/f9G
In cooperation with @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Keynotes: Supreet Kaur & @philippstrack.bsky.social
📆 𝟮𝟯 - 𝟮𝟰 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲
ℹ️https://www.ifo.de/cesifo/f9G
In cooperation with @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
How do adults react to data on educational inequality? We show that data on the wealth gap in German schools causes people to agree that circumstances impact educational success and increases private donations. Yet, it doesn't change support for government spending.
Luck or Effort: Information on Educational Inequality shifts Perceptions, but not Policy Demand
Grewenig, Wedel & Werner: "Luck Or Effort: Perceptions of the Role of Circumstances in Education and Demand for Targeted Spending" CRC Discussion Paper No. 543
190researchblog.substack.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM
How do adults react to data on educational inequality? We show that data on the wealth gap in German schools causes people to agree that circumstances impact educational success and increases private donations. Yet, it doesn't change support for government spending.
Reposted by CRC Rationality & Competition
📣 Call for Papers - EXTENSION OF DEADLINE
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics in July.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 30 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
#phdconference #callforpapers @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics in July.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 30 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
#phdconference #callforpapers @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
January 23, 2026 at 9:12 AM
📣 Call for Papers - EXTENSION OF DEADLINE
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics in July.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 30 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
#phdconference #callforpapers @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics in July.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 30 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
#phdconference #callforpapers @rationalitycrc.bsky.social
Reposted by CRC Rationality & Competition
📢 Call for papers:
CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education
co-organized w/ Eric Hanushek (Stanford)
🏛️ 11-12 Sept 2026, Munich
🧑🏫 Keynote: John List (Chicago) @johnlist.bsky.social
👉 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ev...
⏰ Deadline: 11 May 2026
🖼️ Past programs:
sites.google.com/view/woessma...
CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education
co-organized w/ Eric Hanushek (Stanford)
🏛️ 11-12 Sept 2026, Munich
🧑🏫 Keynote: John List (Chicago) @johnlist.bsky.social
👉 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ev...
⏰ Deadline: 11 May 2026
🖼️ Past programs:
sites.google.com/view/woessma...
January 26, 2026 at 6:00 AM
📢 Call for papers:
CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education
co-organized w/ Eric Hanushek (Stanford)
🏛️ 11-12 Sept 2026, Munich
🧑🏫 Keynote: John List (Chicago) @johnlist.bsky.social
👉 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ev...
⏰ Deadline: 11 May 2026
🖼️ Past programs:
sites.google.com/view/woessma...
CESifo Area Conference on Economics of Education
co-organized w/ Eric Hanushek (Stanford)
🏛️ 11-12 Sept 2026, Munich
🧑🏫 Keynote: John List (Chicago) @johnlist.bsky.social
👉 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ev...
⏰ Deadline: 11 May 2026
🖼️ Past programs:
sites.google.com/view/woessma...
Does religious education in school create life-long believers? We exploit staggered German state reforms to show that abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced students' religiosity as adults and led to higher labor-market participation and earnings.
The Long Reach of Religious Education: New Evidence on Compulsion, Beliefs, and Economic Life
Arold, Woessmann & Zierow: "Can Schools Change Religious Attitudes? Evidence from German State Reforms of Compulsory Religious Education" Journal of Human Resources
190researchblog.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Does religious education in school create life-long believers? We exploit staggered German state reforms to show that abolishing compulsory religious education significantly reduced students' religiosity as adults and led to higher labor-market participation and earnings.
📣 Call for Papers | Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies
We are pleased to announce the Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies, taking place 8–10 September 2026 in Riederau am Ammersee (Germany).
We are pleased to announce the Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies, taking place 8–10 September 2026 in Riederau am Ammersee (Germany).
Workshop Homepage
econexperiments.eu
January 20, 2026 at 12:55 PM
📣 Call for Papers | Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies
We are pleased to announce the Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies, taking place 8–10 September 2026 in Riederau am Ammersee (Germany).
We are pleased to announce the Riederau Workshop on People’s Understanding of and Support for Economic Policies, taking place 8–10 September 2026 in Riederau am Ammersee (Germany).
How does competitive pressure fail to protect buyers in information markets? Our new model of "portfolio competition" shows that when signals are complements, sellers leverage the buyer's desire for the joint portfolio to extract the full social surplus.
Portfolio Competition: Why Conventional Antitrust Fails in Oligopolistic Information Markets
Achim & Strausz: "Oligopolistic Information Markets" CRC Discussion Paper No. 554
190researchblog.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM
How does competitive pressure fail to protect buyers in information markets? Our new model of "portfolio competition" shows that when signals are complements, sellers leverage the buyer's desire for the joint portfolio to extract the full social surplus.
Why can boosting product quality actually reduce a manufacturer's profits? Our findings show that when retailers control pricing, increasing demand strengthens the retailer's power, compelling manufacturers to give up more profit and optimally limit product quality.
When Better Products Hurt Profits: The Hidden Costs of Quality in Retail
Shin & Strausz: "Demand-Investment in Distribution Channels" CRC Discussion Paper No. 553
190researchblog.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Why can boosting product quality actually reduce a manufacturer's profits? Our findings show that when retailers control pricing, increasing demand strengthens the retailer's power, compelling manufacturers to give up more profit and optimally limit product quality.
Reposted by CRC Rationality & Competition
🎉 Congratulations to 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘀 on winning funding for a @leibniz-gemeinschaft.de Junior Research Group for the period 2026–2030! The group will study the behavior of firms and consumers in the transition from efficiency-driven to resilience-driven globalization👏👏
December 18, 2025 at 7:53 AM
🎉 Congratulations to 𝗗𝗼𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘀 on winning funding for a @leibniz-gemeinschaft.de Junior Research Group for the period 2026–2030! The group will study the behavior of firms and consumers in the transition from efficiency-driven to resilience-driven globalization👏👏
How Germany’s historical high mobility fell short of its reputation: Our data reveals that intergenerational income persistence sharply increased for recent cohorts, reaching levels comparable to the US and coinciding with increasingly class-dependent educational attainment.
Social Mobility in Germany: New Study Reveals a Steep Decline in Opportunity
Baarck, Bode & Peichl: "Rising Inequality, Declining Mobility: The Evolution of Intergenerational Mobility in Germany" CRC Discussion Paper No. 550
190researchblog.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:00 PM
How Germany’s historical high mobility fell short of its reputation: Our data reveals that intergenerational income persistence sharply increased for recent cohorts, reaching levels comparable to the US and coinciding with increasingly class-dependent educational attainment.
How labor market resilience can fall short despite new skill demands: Our analysis shows that robot automation systematically increases training for new skills in service sectors but also speeds up the retirement of manufacturing workers.
Training or Retiring? How Labor Markets Adjust to Trade and Technology Shocks
Bertermann, Dauth, Suedekum & Woessmann: "Training or Retiring? How Labor Markets Adjust to Trade and Technology Shocks" CRC Discussion Paper No. 551
190researchblog.substack.com
December 29, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How labor market resilience can fall short despite new skill demands: Our analysis shows that robot automation systematically increases training for new skills in service sectors but also speeds up the retirement of manufacturing workers.
How costly data production can thwart price discrimination profits: We show that socially optimal market segmentation forces the seller into "indecisive segments", ensuring zero profit gain and showing that the private incentive to produce information is inefficient.
The Costly Path to Personalized Pricing: Why Private Data Production Is Wasteful
Lefez: "The Production of Information to Price Discriminate" CRC Discussion Paper No. 535
190researchblog.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How costly data production can thwart price discrimination profits: We show that socially optimal market segmentation forces the seller into "indecisive segments", ensuring zero profit gain and showing that the private incentive to produce information is inefficient.
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics on July 6-8, 2026.
📣 Call for Papers
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics on July 6-8, 2026.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 25 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
@wzb.bsky.social @hertieschool.bsky.social #phdconference
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics on July 6-8, 2026.
🗓 July 6-8, 2026
⏰ Application deadline: 25 January 2026
🔗 Learn more & apply: berlinschoolofeconomics.de/event-detail...
@wzb.bsky.social @hertieschool.bsky.social #phdconference
December 15, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Join us for the 2nd Berlin PhD Conference in Economics on July 6-8, 2026.
How information campaigns can fall short even if they successfully correct beliefs: Our experiments show that correcting consumers' large underestimations of which products cause high emissions does not have an effect on their actual consumption decisions.
Correcting misunderstandings about CO2 emissions doesn’t help to fight climate change
Imai, Pace, Schwardmann & van der Weele "Correcting Consumer Misperceptions About CO2 Emissions" CRC Discussion Paper No. 529
190researchblog.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How information campaigns can fall short even if they successfully correct beliefs: Our experiments show that correcting consumers' large underestimations of which products cause high emissions does not have an effect on their actual consumption decisions.
How can AI overcome the scarcity of employee data that impedes its use in hiring? Our new field experiment shows that adding non-incentivized behavioral measures improves AI's productivity predictions and makes algorithmic hiring more efficient than even human managers.
Improving AI Hiring: Behavioral Measures and Field Validation in Microfinance
Dargnies, Hakimov & Kübler "Behavioral Measures Improve AI Hiring: A Field Experiment" CRC Discussion Paper No. 532
190researchblog.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How can AI overcome the scarcity of employee data that impedes its use in hiring? Our new field experiment shows that adding non-incentivized behavioral measures improves AI's productivity predictions and makes algorithmic hiring more efficient than even human managers.
How do elite families maintain their status over multiple generations? Using data from prewar Japan, we show that adoption expands the choice to a broader talent pool, increasing the probability of maintaining elite status in the son’s generation by 27%.
Why do elite families remain at the top generation after generation?
Kumanomido, Takayasu: "Elite Persistence in Family: The Role of Adoption in Prewar Japan" CRC Discussion Paper No. 537
190researchblog.substack.com
December 1, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How do elite families maintain their status over multiple generations? Using data from prewar Japan, we show that adoption expands the choice to a broader talent pool, increasing the probability of maintaining elite status in the son’s generation by 27%.
Does job flexibility foster gender equality? On the contrary. Our new paper reveals that the shift to working from home significantly intensifies gender gaps in both paid hours and care-giving among couples.
Remote Work Solidifies Traditional Roles: New Causal Evidence on Gender Inequality Post-Covid
Alipour: "Does Remote Work Reinforce Gender Gaps in (Un)Paid Labor?" CRC Discussion Paper No. 542
190researchblog.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Does job flexibility foster gender equality? On the contrary. Our new paper reveals that the shift to working from home significantly intensifies gender gaps in both paid hours and care-giving among couples.
Does the scientific community sanction sexual misconduct unrelated to research integrity? Our new study finds a citation penalty: a significant decline in citations to the prior work of accused scientists.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
November 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Does the scientific community sanction sexual misconduct unrelated to research integrity? Our new study finds a citation penalty: a significant decline in citations to the prior work of accused scientists.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
We have concluded our week of power posting every day with two posts over the weekend-- on a market-design experiment 190researchblog.substack.com/p/beyond-str... and a study on measuring urban quality of life 190researchblog.substack.com/p/why-urban-...
Beyond Strategy-Proofness: How Confidence and Information Fuel Justified Envy
Meisner, Süer, Tolksdorf & Tominaj: "Confidence and Information in Strategy-Proof School Choice" CRC Discussion Paper No. 546
190researchblog.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:05 AM
We have concluded our week of power posting every day with two posts over the weekend-- on a market-design experiment 190researchblog.substack.com/p/beyond-str... and a study on measuring urban quality of life 190researchblog.substack.com/p/why-urban-...
How can traditional models fall short in measuring urban appeal? Our analysis reveals that neglecting mobility frictions causes an underestimation of the urban quality-of-life premium (QoL): increasing a region's population is associated with a significant increase in QoL.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
November 16, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How can traditional models fall short in measuring urban appeal? Our analysis reveals that neglecting mobility frictions causes an underestimation of the urban quality-of-life premium (QoL): increasing a region's population is associated with a significant increase in QoL.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
How market design can fall short despite strategy-proofness: Our new experiment shows that underconfidence systematically induces significantly more instability (justified envy) than overconfidence in school choice.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
November 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How market design can fall short despite strategy-proofness: Our new experiment shows that underconfidence systematically induces significantly more instability (justified envy) than overconfidence in school choice.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
How can information backfire in fighting hidden actions? Our new theory reveals the mechanism of surplus squeezing: costly perfect verification enables the seller to extract all buyer surplus, collapsing trade, while noisy verification sustains market exchange.
When Too Much Information Kills the Deal: The Surplus Squeezing Effect
Achim & Lefez: "Surplus Squeeze and Informational Hold-Up" CRC Discussion Paper No. 538
190researchblog.substack.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How can information backfire in fighting hidden actions? Our new theory reveals the mechanism of surplus squeezing: costly perfect verification enables the seller to extract all buyer surplus, collapsing trade, while noisy verification sustains market exchange.
Pre-registration has become mainstream, yet trade-offs persist: Our new survey finds that researchers assign a credibility premium to significant results from pre-registered tests, but a significant proportion expects a negative impact on research creativity and volume.
Mapping Open Science: New Data on Pre-Registration in Experimental Economics
Imai et al.: "Pre-Registration and Pre-Analysis Plans in Experimental Economics" CRC Discussion Paper No. 530
190researchblog.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Pre-registration has become mainstream, yet trade-offs persist: Our new survey finds that researchers assign a credibility premium to significant results from pre-registered tests, but a significant proportion expects a negative impact on research creativity and volume.
Is China a "Paper Tiger" when it comes to scientific quality? Our investigation into citation home bias reveals China exhibits the largest bias globally, demonstrating that its apparent rise in citation rankings is overstated.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Is China a "Paper Tiger" when it comes to scientific quality? Our investigation into citation home bias reveals China exhibits the largest bias globally, demonstrating that its apparent rise in citation rankings is overstated.
190researchblog.subs...
190researchblog.subs...
How much does out-of-school learning influence foreign-language acquisition? Our new analysis shows that historical national decisions to subtitle imported TV content systematically result in a large positive effect on English-language skills.
open.substack.com/pu...
open.substack.com/pu...
November 11, 2025 at 12:00 PM
How much does out-of-school learning influence foreign-language acquisition? Our new analysis shows that historical national decisions to subtitle imported TV content systematically result in a large positive effect on English-language skills.
open.substack.com/pu...
open.substack.com/pu...