Väitös (taloustiede): MSc (Econ), MA Satu Metsälampi
Aika
30.5.2025 klo 12.00 - 16.00
MSc (Econ), MA Satu Metsälampi esittää väitöskirjansa ”Essays on behavioral public economics” julkisesti tarkastettavaksi Turun yliopistossa perjantaina 30.5.2025 klo 12.00 (Turun yliopisto, Turun kauppakorkeakoulu, Lähitapiola-sali, Rehtorinpellonkatu 3, Turku).
Yleisön on mahdollista osallistua väitökseen myös etäyhteyden kautta: https://utu.zoom.us/j/61478222926 (meeting ID: 614 7822 2926, kopioi linkki selaimeen).
Vastaväittäjänä toimii professori Edvard Johansson (Åbo Akademi) ja kustoksena professori Janne Tukiainen (Turun yliopisto). Tilaisuus on englanninkielinen. Väitöksen alana on taloustiede.
Väitöskirja yliopiston julkaisuarkistossa: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-02-0103-6 (kopioi linkki selaimeen).
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Tiivistelmä väitöstutkimuksesta:
The research in my dissertation centers on the consequences of social preferences. The first essay studies the causal effects of tax reporting institutions on market outcomes and tax compliance and how these institutions interact with non-pecuniary motivations, such as preferences for truth-telling and image concerns.
We show that tax reporting and pricing decisions, and the resulting division of the tax burden between sellers and buyers, can be affected by self-interest, as well as moral motivations in the form of lying costs and a preference to appear honest.
Essays II-IV explore the causes and consequences of social comparisons. More specifically, we ask: Who do we compare ourselves to, why do we compare, and what are the consequences of these comparisons?
We find that the comparisons people engage in, when given a choice between several reference groups, i.e. compatriots, educational or occupational peers, age cohort, or residents in the same municipality, and the stated motivations for that choice tend to align with comparisons that are actionable on pecuniary, fairness or other grounds.
We show that comparison information causally affects self-reported income-related well-being. However, not all information has the same impact: Learning about one’s position among one’s compatriots has a negligible effect compared to more circumscribed reference groups.
Social comparisons and reference groups matter not only for subjective well-being, but also influence economic decision-making. We find that changes in perceived relative income —absent any change to actual, absolute income— impacts the level of charitable donations. Similarly, we find that it impacts actual earned income in the short-term. By contrast, we do not observe any influence of relative income information on an individual’s reported or actual risk-taking.
Our research also highlights the importance of the nature of misperceptions individuals hold about their own income position, and the implications for income transparency policies such as publicly available tax records or wage transparency. If the vast majority of individuals, as in our study, greatly underestimate their relative position, then making their relative standing more salient can improve welfare in the aggregate.
Yleisön on mahdollista osallistua väitökseen myös etäyhteyden kautta: https://utu.zoom.us/j/61478222926 (meeting ID: 614 7822 2926, kopioi linkki selaimeen).
Vastaväittäjänä toimii professori Edvard Johansson (Åbo Akademi) ja kustoksena professori Janne Tukiainen (Turun yliopisto). Tilaisuus on englanninkielinen. Väitöksen alana on taloustiede.
Väitöskirja yliopiston julkaisuarkistossa: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-02-0103-6 (kopioi linkki selaimeen).
***
Tiivistelmä väitöstutkimuksesta:
The research in my dissertation centers on the consequences of social preferences. The first essay studies the causal effects of tax reporting institutions on market outcomes and tax compliance and how these institutions interact with non-pecuniary motivations, such as preferences for truth-telling and image concerns.
We show that tax reporting and pricing decisions, and the resulting division of the tax burden between sellers and buyers, can be affected by self-interest, as well as moral motivations in the form of lying costs and a preference to appear honest.
Essays II-IV explore the causes and consequences of social comparisons. More specifically, we ask: Who do we compare ourselves to, why do we compare, and what are the consequences of these comparisons?
We find that the comparisons people engage in, when given a choice between several reference groups, i.e. compatriots, educational or occupational peers, age cohort, or residents in the same municipality, and the stated motivations for that choice tend to align with comparisons that are actionable on pecuniary, fairness or other grounds.
We show that comparison information causally affects self-reported income-related well-being. However, not all information has the same impact: Learning about one’s position among one’s compatriots has a negligible effect compared to more circumscribed reference groups.
Social comparisons and reference groups matter not only for subjective well-being, but also influence economic decision-making. We find that changes in perceived relative income —absent any change to actual, absolute income— impacts the level of charitable donations. Similarly, we find that it impacts actual earned income in the short-term. By contrast, we do not observe any influence of relative income information on an individual’s reported or actual risk-taking.
Our research also highlights the importance of the nature of misperceptions individuals hold about their own income position, and the implications for income transparency policies such as publicly available tax records or wage transparency. If the vast majority of individuals, as in our study, greatly underestimate their relative position, then making their relative standing more salient can improve welfare in the aggregate.
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