Psychology and Economics of Poverty Convening 2019
CEGA’s Psychology and Economics of Poverty (PEP) Collaborative hosted its second annual convening on Friday, May 17th, 2019 at UC Berkeley.
Faculty and graduate students from the disciplines of psychology and economics shared research advancing our understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty. By merging insights from the traditionally independent fields of social and developmental psychology, behavioral economics, and public policy, we aimed to explore how scarcity and uncertainty affects cognition as well as mental health, beliefs, aspirations, and economic decision-making. Building on the momentum from our inaugural event, the convening highlighted exciting new research while strengthening a growing, interdisciplinary community of practice in this space.
Agenda
Speakers denoted by italics and an asterisk. Co-authors listed in alphabetical order denoted by †. Please find a PDF of the agenda linked here as well as slides and recordings linked below.
Read a summary of key takeaways from the event here.
PhD Student Breakfast – Research Presentations and Lightning Talks
Economic Shocks and Personality Traits of the Ultra Poor
Mo Alloush, UC Davis (Agricultural and Resource Economics)
Dynamics of Culture on Environmental Sustainability: A Case Study of Sub-Saharan Africa
Raphael Ebanda, University of Nairobi (Environmental Management)
Gender Identity Norms and Psychological Well-being
Megan Lang, UC Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics)
Evaluation of Social Networks and Measures of Empowerment among Adolescent Girls in Uttar Pradesh, India
Gauthami Penakalapati, UC Berkeley (Energy & Resources Group)
Exploring Taxation Toward Representation: Public Goods, Tax Collection, Social Norms, and Democratic Accountability
Benjamin Krause, UC Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics)
Session 1 – How Beliefs Shape Economic Behavior
Sour Grapes in the Lab and Field: A Test of Access-Based Beliefs
Vinayak Alladi, UC San Diego (Economics)*
Can Hope Elevate Microfinance? Evidence from Oaxaca, Mexico
Bruce Wydick, University of San Francisco (Economics)* Travis Lybbert, UC Davis, Irvin Rojas, CIDE
Endorsing Help for Others That You Oppose for Yourself: Mind Perception
Alters the Perceived Effectiveness of Paternalism
Juliana Schroeder, UC Berkeley (Haas School of Business)*, Nicholas Epley, University of Chicago, Adam Waytz, Northwestern University
Session 2 – How Economic Insecurity Affects Growth and Development
Isolating the Effects of Developmental Food Insecurity on Learning, Cognitive Flexibility, and Addiction Related Behavior in Adulthood
Linda Wilbrecht, UC Berkeley (Psychology)*
Poverty, Seasonal Scarcity and Exchange Asymmetries: Evidence from Small-Scale Farmers in Rural Zambia”
Kelsey Jack, UC Santa Barbara (Environmental Science & Management)*, Dietmar Fehr, University of Heidelberg, Günther Fink, University of Basel
Socio Economic Status and Attention Capture: Educational Impacts
Claire Duquennois, UC Berkeley (Agricultural & Resource Economics)*
Session 3 – How Changes in Income Influence Psychology
The Effects of Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credits on Mental
Health and Health Behaviors
Rita Hamad, UC San Francisco (Health Policy and Family Medicine)*
The Impact of Direct Giving on People Experiencing Homelessness:
Experimental Evidence From Vancouver, Canada
Jiaying Zhao, University of British Columbia (Psychology)*
Economic Shocks and Personality Traits of the Ultra Poor
Shikhar Mehra, University of San Francisco (Economics)
Session 4 – How Scarcity Affects Decisionmaking
What Accounts for Socioeconomic Differences in Child-Directed Speech?The Role of Resource Scarcity”
Monica Ellwood-Lowe, UC Berkeley (Psychology)*
Does Financial Strain Lower Productivity?
Supreet Kaur, UC Berkeley (Economics)*, Suanna Oh, Columbia University, Sendhil Mullainathan, University of Chicago, Frank Schilbach, MIT
How robust are scarcity inductions? Undertaking well-powered
replications of a systematic sample of recent literature
Ruthe Foushee, UC Berkeley (Psychology)
