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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Matt Kertman @mattkertman.bsky.social · Aug 21

🚨 Evidence alert: RCT from a @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social / @ox.ac.uk team found that unconditional cash xfers led to 48% ⬇️ infant deaths in Kenya. 🧢 off to team behind this study: Michael Walker, @tedmiguel.bsky.social, Dennis Egger, Nick Shankar, and Grady Killeen.

go.cega.org/cashimpacts

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Cash Transfers Dramatically Cut Infant Mortality in Kenya, New Research Finds

Berkeley, CA (18 Aug. 2025) — With the global development community facing financial upheaval, global development goals increasingly out of reach, and the need for aid greater than ever, new...

go.cega.org

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VoxDev @voxdev.bsky.social · May 28

🆕 What role can (should) economists play in shaping the future of AI? 📢

Today on VoxDevTalks, David Yanagizawa-Drott (@econ.uzh.ch) discusses how economists should think about the future of AI: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD7-...

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Department of Economics @Universität Zürich 🇨🇭 @econ.uzh.ch · Jun 6

🎉 Congratulations to @jyusof.bsky.social who has successfully defended his PhD Thesis: «Understanding Inequality and Redistribution: The Role of Perceptions and Preferences»!

🇩🇪 He will pursue a position as an assistant professor at the @unistuttgart.bsky.social

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · May 23

Congrats Gabriele!

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · May 15

Extremely grateful for the opportunity and the outstanding support from the @ubscenter.uzh.ch and @econ.uzh.ch on this academic journey!

Economics. For Society. @ubscenter.uzh.ch · May 14

Former UBS Center Scholarship holder @schubertlexi.bsky.social successfully defended her PhD Thesis. Congratulations!

Lexi will join @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor of Economics after a post-doc at @cega-uc.bsky.social.

#EconomicsForSociety #UZH #shareUBS
@econ.uzh.ch

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Economics. For Society. @ubscenter.uzh.ch · May 14

Former UBS Center Scholarship holder @schubertlexi.bsky.social successfully defended her PhD Thesis. Congratulations!

Lexi will join @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social as an Assistant Professor of Economics after a post-doc at @cega-uc.bsky.social.

#EconomicsForSociety #UZH #shareUBS
@econ.uzh.ch

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Economics. For Society. @ubscenter.uzh.ch · Dec 16

Join us for an unique and inspiring event with the newly awarded @nobelprize.bsky.social laureate @dacemoglumit.bsky.social of @mitofficial.bsky.social on January 29, 6pm, at @uzh-en.bsky.social.

Register now → www.ubscenter.uzh.ch/en/news_even...

#EconomicsForSociety #UZH #shareUBS
@econ.uzh.ch

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

NBER @nber.org · Dec 21

Recent policy proposals for universal access with automatic enrollment could increase participation by 19 percentage points in the lowest income quintile over ten years, from Motohiro Yogo, Andrew Whitten, and Natalie Cox https://www.nber.org/papers/w33256

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Frank Schilbach @fschilbach.bsky.social · Dec 13

Very excited to see this in print soon!

The Quarterly Journal of Economics @qjeharvard.bsky.social · Dec 13

Recently accepted by #QJE, “Do Financial Concerns Make Workers Less Productive,” by Kaur, Mullainathan (@sendhil.bsky.social), Oh, and Schilbach (@fschilbach.bsky.social): doi.org/10.1093/qje/...

Do Financial Concerns Make Workers Less Productive?*

Abstract. Workers who are worried about their personal finances may find it hard to focus at work. If so, reducing financial concerns could by itself incre

doi.org

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Emma Wiles @emmawiles.bsky.social · Dec 21

My economist husband spent the last couple days, jubilantly stating “Saturday the holidays begin! Vacation starts! No more work!” This morning he woke up excited: “no work today!!” He is now making slides for an intro trade class that doesn’t exist “for fun! This isn’t work!!”

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Alex Imas @aleximas.bsky.social · Dec 21

Basic science is necessary for applied science, example #1000000

Derek Thompson @dkthomp.bsky.social · Dec 21

People sometimes make fun of science that sounds stupid and random.

Meanwhile, a study of lizard saliva turned into a peptide medication, which was turned into a diabetes medication, which was turned into a GLP1 weight loss drug, that just became the first therapy every approved for … sleep apnea

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Dec 20

Breaking News: The FDA approved use of the weight loss drug Zepbound for a common form of sleep apnea. It is the first drug authorized to treat the disorder.

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 25

Thank you for sharing your paper, Davide! That sounds very related! Will check it out to see if that can help with the "black box" around fatigue and rest

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Olivier Simard-Casanova @o.simardcasanova.net · Nov 19

I would even add: please shamelessly promote your work

One terrific thing I enjoyed on old Twitter was discovering new papers

Trust me, you will have an audience if you share your work on Bluesky

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · Nov 19

No need to apologize for promoting your work here.

Who better to tell us about it? Who knows it sooner or better?

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Deivy Houeix @deivyhoueix.bsky.social · Nov 15

🚀 I'm on the job market! Curious how digital tech boosts productivity but still faces adoption barriers? Digital payments are powerful tools, yet data observability can be a double-edged sword—enhancing efficiency but deterring workers fearing tracking. My takeaways on @WorldBank blog! 🙂👇 #EconJMP

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 15

Today's #econjmp by @deivyhoueix.bsky.social conducts 2 RCTs with the intro of mobile payments to taxis in Senegal, showing how making payments observable to the owner can induce more effort from the driver, change the contract structure, but also impact adoption blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Unlocking Digital Potential: The Double-Edged Sword of Observability in Technology Adoption: Guest post by Deivy Houeix

blogs.worldbank.org

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Edward Wiles @edwardwiles.bsky.social · Nov 18

Thanks for including my JMP! With @deivyhoueix.bsky.social, we run an RCT studying search costs, adverse selection, and moral hazard between firms and suppliers in a large international import market.

More detail available in the paper, including model and estimation! tinyurl.com/4acf2uwm

David McKenzie @dmckenzie.bsky.social · Nov 18

Today's #econjmp post is by @edwardwiles.bsky.social who conducts an experiment in Senegal with importers to show how Whatsapp groups can overcome search and trust frictions, with reviews that build trust and punish bad behavior helping form lasting trade blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...?

Can social media alleviate search and trust frictions in international imports? Guest post by Edward Wiles

blogs.worldbank.org

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Reposted by Lexi Schubert

Khoa @khoavuumn.bsky.social · Nov 20

Very disappointed in the slow growth of new starter packs being created every day. How do we expect more progress if only 300 starter packs are created every day.

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Frank Schilbach @fschilbach.bsky.social · Nov 18

Take a break to check out the fantastic work by my student on the market @schubertlexi.bsky.social!

In Lexi’s experiment, the vast majority of people prefer not to take breaks even though breaks pay for themselves. Misperceived returns to breaks play a key role in this decision.

Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

#JMP Alert #EconTwitter

Restful activities can boost productivity, allowing you to earn more by working less. But do people get this trade-off right? In my JMP, we show they don’t.

lexischubert.github.io/uploads/Schu...

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

And with that: take a [restorative] break! So you can get back refreshed to that pile of papers on your desk.

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

Implications?
If this holds across settings, workers are leaving money on the table: enjoy your break AND earn your income, too.

Aka there is no trade off.

And in our study, we can’t even capture any long-term health costs from overworking e.g., burnout

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

Limitations? Plenty!

What happens to demand if the task isn’t tiring? Is it task-switching or task-pausing? What if the break content changes? What if the compensation structure changes? Do people learn with experience? What if you add a boss?

Lots of open questions for the future!

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

How?
(1) Mentally fatiguing task, gig economy type set up, restorative audio script break
(2) Design allows us to link demand and returns at the individual level

Why Experiment?
B/c real world evidence on rest take up is confounded by concerns like wanting your manager to think well of you

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

What We Find?
#1: On avg breaks boost productivity by 23%. That’s enough to compensate for lost time.
#2: Only 19% of workers choose to take a break. We find no evidence of selection on returns.
#3: Workers underestimate the financial returns to rest.

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

What We Do?

At a high level: Online work experiment in South Africa where we match returns for rest with demand for rest.
For details: check out the paper!

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Lexi Schubert @schubertlexi.bsky.social · Nov 18

#JMP Alert #EconTwitter

Restful activities can boost productivity, allowing you to earn more by working less. But do people get this trade-off right? In my JMP, we show they don’t.

lexischubert.github.io/uploads/Schu...

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