Bea Ahumada

2025 European Meeting of the Economic Science Association in Brno, Czech Republic | 2025 ESA European Meeting Join the European Meeting of the Economic Science Association 2025 at Masaryk University.

Join us for the 2025 European Meeting of the Economic Science Association in the beautiful city of Brno on 3-6 September! #ESA2025

📅 Submission deadline: May 5
✍️ Notification of acceptance & registration opens: May 16

More info ⏩ esa2025.econ.muni.cz

📢 #MUES research seminar

Tomorrow, Bea Ahumada (@beaahumada.bsky.social) from the University of Pittsburgh will discuss how, when income inequality is perceived to arise from both effort and luck, excuses can influence acceptance of inequality.

Join us ⏩ mues.econ.muni.cz/research-sem...

2. @beaahumada.bsky.social @lisev.bsky.social @alistairecon.bsky.social sites.pitt.edu/~alistair/pa... Replications of Dana et al., Exley, and Di Tella findsreduced effect sizes on the latter two. Most intriguingly, there was no correlation in excuse-seeking behavior across domains. 3/4

Do you want to know more about my research agenda?

My work explores fairness, inequality, and redistribution preferences using experimental and behavioral methods.

In this thread, I talk about my ongoing and future projects!

bsky.app/profile/beaa...

#eeac Day 2: I might be biased, but don't let that be an excuse to miss Pitt @beaahumada.bsky.social JMP "Excuses and Redistribution" She induces uncertainty about source of earnings diffs between self/partner by randomizing between low and high piece-rate in a real effort task. #econsky #econjmp

Would love to hear your thoughts and connect with others working on similar topics! 🤝 #econsky #econjmp

My research uses behavioral insights to inform public policy, aiming to reduce inequality by addressing differences in opportunities and exploring mechanisms like redistribution, fairness norms, and inclusive hiring practices. I explore how institutions can promote fairness and mobility.

🎯 Future projects:

Handicaps in the Labor Market. Initial ability differences often grow due to unequal opportunities. Using theory and experiments, I study how handicap tournaments (like in sports) can close ability gaps and reduce long-term inequality.

🤔 “Silly” Interview Questions and Gender Bias in Hiring (w/ @mallorave.bsky.social & Neeraja Gupta):

We study how "irrelevant" questions (like ice-breakers) affect hiring decisions and whether they justify gender biases.

Timing mirrors real-world policies (e.g., taxes, student loan forgiveness) and results could inform better policy design!

🌟 Preferences over the Timing of Fairness Policies (w/ @mallorave.bsky.social

We study how the timing of redistribution and related info impacts preferences. Spectators decide redistribution for workers who either know or don’t know about it before task.

Thank you for sharing, Stephanie!

I'm thrilled to share about my research agenda! My work explores fairness, inequality, and redistribution preferences through experimental and behavioral methods. Here's a quick look at ongoing and future projects tackling these crucial topics! 🧵👇 #econsky #econjmp

Say no more!

bsky.app/profile/beaa...

Why does this matter?

Economic implications: These behaviors can perpetuate inequality.

Social implications: Fosters polarization - people believe that those who are poor have themselves to blame, but those who are rich are due to luck. (6/6)

Read more here: drive.google.com/file/d/1A8t4...

Belief distortions aren’t the only story. I find evidence that people choose fairness views (egalitarian, meritocratic, or libertarian) that best align with their self-interest. (5/6)

Results:

Under No Information, participants believe their partners’ success is due to luck, justifying keeping more earnings for themselves.

Redistribution is lower, and inequality increases. (4/6)

Key treatments:

No Information: Only know how much $ each of them made.

Partial Information: Effort distribution is shown, reducing uncertainty. (3/6)

In a lab experiment:

Participants perform a real-effort task where the piece rate (high or low) is randomly determined.

Then, they redistribute earnings between themselves and a partner under different information conditions. (2/6)

I’m on the Job Market! 🚨

Ever wondered how does uncertainty about sources of inequality affects redistribution?
In my jmp, Excuses and Redistribution, I explore how people use excuses to distort beliefs about merit and luck, justifying self-serving behavior. 🧵(1/6)

Can I be added? Thanks!

I have made a starter pack for experimental economics. Please let me know if you would like to be added or deleted from the list. Thank you. go.bsky.app/2U7CMUC #Econsky

Can I be added? Thanks!