Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
@tsguul.bsky.social
360 followers 280 following 17 posts
Associate Professor in Public Administration, University of Southern Denmark https://sites.google.com/view/thorbjoern-sejr-guul/
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Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
karolinekolstad.bsky.social
Do high workloads force bureaucrats to discriminate?

In a published paper at the @thejop.bsky.social, I challenge the dominant explanation of discrimination in public service delivery. Surprisingly, I find that bureaucrats are able to handle substantial workloads without discriminating.
thejop.bsky.social
"Overburdened Bureaucrats: Providing Equal Access to Public Services During COVID-19" by Karoline Larsen Kolstad. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
tsguul.bsky.social
These results demonstrate the potential of using performance information—without increasing incentives—to promote learning in public organizations.
9/9
tsguul.bsky.social
Moreover, as specified in our preregistered, primary hypothesis, the teachers chose actions according to the new information, such that students in the treatment group received support that better matched their skill level.
8/9
tsguul.bsky.social
In the treatment group we find that teachers updated their beliefs according to the model, such that they placed relatively more weight on the test scores (which they are informed about) and less on their priors.
7/9
tsguul.bsky.social
More specifically we repeatedly measured the reading skills of students in both treatment and control group using an IT-based reading test. However, only the treatment group received information on the test scores during the intervention period.
6/9
tsguul.bsky.social
However, measuring performance may itself affect professionals’ behavior, which makes it difficult to isolate the effect of providing performance information. We designed a preregistered field experiment in which we can isolate the effect of making performance information available to teachers
5/9
tsguul.bsky.social
We propose, based on a Bayesian model of learning, that simply providing professional teachers with performance information— without changing their extrinsic incentives—may be enough to make them update their beliefs about their students and act accordingly
4/9
tsguul.bsky.social
Performance management is used by governments worldwide to incentivize professionals in schools and other public organizations. Yet, much research shows that these incentives may generate perverse dysfunctional effects.
3/9
tsguul.bsky.social
Thrilled to share that our paper "A Learning Approach to the Governance of Professionals. Field Experimental Evidence" with scandersen.bsky.social has been accepted for publication in jpart1991.bsky.social

See threat and link below below 👇
1/9
tsguul.bsky.social
In the treatment group we find that teachers updated their beliefs according to the model, such that they placed relatively more weight on the test scores (which they are informed about) and less on their priors.
7/9
tsguul.bsky.social
More specifically we repeatedly measured the reading skills of students in both treatment and control group using an IT-based reading test. However, only the treatment group received information on the test scores during the intervention period.
6/9
tsguul.bsky.social
However, measuring performance may itself affect professionals’ behavior, which makes it difficult to isolate the effect of providing performance information. We designed a preregistered field experiment in which we can isolate the effect of making performance information available to teachers
5/9
tsguul.bsky.social
We propose, based on a Bayesian model of learning, that simply providing professional teachers with performance information— without changing their extrinsic incentives—may be enough to make them update their beliefs about their students and act accordingly
4/9
tsguul.bsky.social
Performance management is used by governments worldwide to incentivize professionals in schools and other public organizations. Yet, much research shows that these incentives may generate perverse dysfunctional effects.
3/9
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
rsenninger.bsky.social
Our article “Unsuccessful Candidates Are More Concerned About Electoral Fairness than Election Winners” is now online @thejop.bsky.social

Using RDD and elite survey data from Denmark, we show that losing candidates express greater concern about electoral fairness.

🔗 doi.org/10.1086/734240
tsguul.bsky.social
Thanks you so much for your visit, Elizabeth - we really enjoyed having you here ☺️
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
pa-sdu.bsky.social
This week we have been happy have @drelizabethbell.bsky.social from University of Texas, Austin as a guest. She has presented her recent work on "Administrative Burden and the Access-Fraud Trade-Off" with @sebjilke.bsky.social , followed by an engaging discussion. Thanks for your visit, Elizabeth!
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
bjpols.bsky.social
NEW -

The Correlates of Ethnicity: Why the Ethnic Majority Expects That Ethnic Minorities Contribute Less to the Collective - cup.org/4lOX7jN

- @matkruse.bsky.social

#OpenAccess
BJPolS societal views towards immigrants and ethnic minorities in Europe, focusing on resource contribution and compliance with societal norms. The text discusses a study in Denmark regarding information manipulation and its effects on societal perceptions.
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
matkruse.bsky.social
@weekendavisen.dk bringer i dag en historie baseret på min, @tsguul.bsky.social og Kristian Kriegbaum Jensens artikel udgivet i AJS.

Link til Weekendavisen: www.weekendavisen.dk/2025-5/ideer...
tsguul.bsky.social
Thrilled to share that our paper "Does Ethnic Similarity Increase Well-being?" with excellent lead author @matkruse.bsky.social and Kristian K. Jensen is out in the American Journal of Sociology.

See 🧵👇
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
jnwulff.bsky.social
1/ 🚀 Excited to share our latest paper in the Journal of Management: "Hic Sunt Dracones: On the Risks of Comparing the ITCV With Control Variable Correlations" 🐉

It’s open access: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Let’s talk about why this matters and what we discovered! 🧵👇
Reposted by Thorbjørn Sejr Guul
In a new article out in @pnas.org w @michaelsvarer.bsky.social @albecknielsen.bsky.social Michael Rosholm. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/..., we explore the long-term unemployment and mental health effects of active labor market programs.
www.pnas.org