Michela Tincani
@michelatincani.bsky.social
1.4K followers 410 following 41 posts
Associate Professor at UCL Economics. Research on college access, information frictions, peer effects. Affiliations: IFS, CEPR, LEAP, CESifo, HCEO. From Lake Maggiore to London via Philly. https://sites.google.com/site/mtincani
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michelatincani.bsky.social
🎓 Recently gave a lecture at the Econometric Society @econometric.bsky.social Summer School on Dynamic Structural Econometrics.

Topic: how subjective expectations data help us model educational choices.

Link to slides: dropbox.com/scl/fi/qui40...

🧵
dropbox.com
Reposted by Michela Tincani
fabiankosse.bsky.social
@michelatincani.bsky.social, Ranjita Rajan and I are very proud and thrilled that our paper “The Persistent Effect of Competition on Prosociality” has been accepted at @jeeanews.bsky.social

👉 First causal evidence that enduring competition persistently reduces prosociality

doi.org/10.1093/jeea...
Abstract of the paper
Reposted by Michela Tincani
jenniferdoleac.bsky.social
It's been 2 years (+ 1 month) since I left academia. In case anyone is wondering, I have zero regrets. Indeed, I'm living my best life and am so happy I made the leap.

If you're considering leaving too, here are some thoughts on how to explore your options/find a job you'll love...
michelatincani.bsky.social
Wonderful news! Congratulations!
michelatincani.bsky.social
This was a fun conversation with Maddy Breen. I spoke about how my life experiences have shaped my research interests, and why access to information is so important for true equality of opportunities.

Thank you @uclpolicylab.bsky.social for the opportunity!
michelatincani.bsky.social
Thanks to @econometric.bsky.social for the invitation!

#EconomicsofEducation #Expectations #StructuralModels #StructuralEconometrics #SubjectiveExpectations
michelatincani.bsky.social
💡Belief data = a powerful tool in structural models of education choices.
They help us understand how people think—and how belief errors shape behavior and education policy outcomes.
michelatincani.bsky.social
Enrico Miglino & I use belief data on effort returns to estimate a dynamic model of pre-college effort.
Belief errors help explain RCT results on preferential admissions.
Simulations suggest: info interventions could reduce disincentive effects of preferential admissions.
michelatincani.bsky.social
4️⃣ To quantify belief errors + welfare impacts
Kapor, Neilson & Zimmerman (2020):
Belief errors about admissions can reverse welfare comparisons across school assignment mechanisms.
michelatincani.bsky.social
Wiswall & Zafar find smaller earnings of major choice elasticities than past work. Why?
Because people who think a major pays more also tend to like it more.
Beliefs and preferences correlate.
Info experiments + belief data help us purge this bias.
michelatincani.bsky.social
3️⃣ To study learning
Beliefs change. Panel data lets us see how they change—and the effects on behavior.
📚 Stinebrickner&Stinebrickner (2014): beliefs about STEM aptitude evolve slowly.
📚 Wiswall & Zafar (2015): info experiments reveal causal effects of beliefs.
michelatincani.bsky.social
2️⃣ To validate the model
Use beliefs on stated choice probabilities to test model fit.
Do model-predicted choices ≈ survey-elicited choices?
🌟 Gonul & Wolpin (1985);
🌟 Delavande & Zafar (2019): validate university choice model using Pakistani student data.
michelatincani.bsky.social
1️⃣ To inform the model
Arcidiacono, Hotz, Maurel & Romano (2020):
Students' beliefs about earnings + occupational choices help test:
Do they act on expected returns?
(ATT > ATE?)
Answer: partly. Non-monetary factors matter too.
➡️ Roy model with non-pecuniary preferences.
michelatincani.bsky.social
We’ve made major progress in understanding how people form beliefs—and how we can use those beliefs in our models.

In the lecture, I outlined 4 ways belief data can be used in structural econometrics:
michelatincani.bsky.social
Education decisions are dynamic.
➡️ Go to college = lose earnings today, hope for better returns later.
But those returns are uncertain.
Structural models assume people form expectations and maximize expected utility.
But how accurate are those expectations?
michelatincani.bsky.social
🎓 Recently gave a lecture at the Econometric Society @econometric.bsky.social Summer School on Dynamic Structural Econometrics.

Topic: how subjective expectations data help us model educational choices.

Link to slides: dropbox.com/scl/fi/qui40...

🧵
dropbox.com
Reposted by Michela Tincani
bengolub.bsky.social
I've been working on a new tool, Refine, to make scholars more productive. If you're interested in being among the very first to try the beta, please read on.

Refine leverages the best current AI models to draw your attention to potential errors and clarity issues in research paper drafts.

1/
michelatincani.bsky.social
Delighted our paper on preferential college admissions is part of the NBER SI joint Education & Labor session on Wednesday — joint with Michela Carlana, Sara Chiuri, and Enrico Miglino. Program: www.nber.org/conferences/..., slides: conference.nber.org/conf_papers/.... Come say hi if you’re around!
SI 2025 Economics of Education
www.nber.org
Reposted by Michela Tincani
Reposted by Michela Tincani
abicadams.bsky.social
I'm very excited for #EEA25!

We had 1900 submissions and look set for a fabulous time in Bordeaux.

A HUGE thanks to the leads and graders who allowed us to get the programme together.

See you in Bordeaux!
eeanews.bsky.social
As the scientific programme of #EEA25 is released, let us thank our scientific committee for putting together everything.
Thanks to you all: eea2025.org/eea-scientif...
Full scientific programme: eea2025.org/full-programme
michelatincani.bsky.social
New results from our study of the long-term impacts of affirmative action in college admissions (with Michela Carlana, Sara Chiuri and Enrico Miglino), using Chile’s PACE program.

How far down the academic achievement distribution can you go while still benefitting the students you target?
nkliyue.bsky.social
📢Michela Tincani (UCL), with Michela Carlana and Enrico Miglino, presents “How Far Can Inclusion Go? The Long-term Impacts of Preferential College Admissions” (1/7) @stoneeconucl.bsky.social @michelatincani.bsky.social
Reposted by Michela Tincani
nkliyue.bsky.social
📢 Zachary Bleemer (Princeton) presents “College Peer Effects and the Labor Market” with Sahar Parsa, asking: Does grouping high-achieving students together benefit them academically or in the long run? (1/2)

@stoneeconucl.bsky.social

@zbleemer.bsky.social
Reposted by Michela Tincani
nkliyue.bsky.social
📢 Viola Corradini (Columbia Business School) presents “Information and Access in School Choice Systems: Evidence from NYC,” asking: Can better information reduce school choice gaps?(1/4)
@stoneeconucl.bsky.social
michelatincani.bsky.social
Preparing a lecture on subjective expectations for the Econometric Society summer school in Dynamic Structural Econometrics, and I found a Wolpin paper from 1985 (!) on the use of expectation data to estimate choice models.
Reposted by Michela Tincani
kotarofujisaki.bsky.social
Jack Mountjoy (University of Chicago, Booth School of Business) presents “College as a Marriage Market” to examine assortative marriage by college type and its economic consequences. (1/4)