We speed and drive aggressively out of overconfidence, and we disregard commonsense safety measures from too much optimism. We may even use a mobile phone while driving, preferring the short-term convenience of using the phone over greater long-term rewards like safety. We engage, in other words, in time discounting, the tendency to assign a lower value to future rewards than … [Read more...] about Improving Road Safety with Behavioral Economics
Microeconomics and Competitiveness
When It Comes to Taxes, Gender Matters
Do women and men behave differently when confronted with taxes? Various studies around the world show that women are more likely than men to pay their taxes, presumably because they are more risk-averse and have greater tax morale, the intrinsic motivation to pay taxes. If that is so, authorities might want to adjust their strategies to take into account gender when trying to … [Read more...] about When It Comes to Taxes, Gender Matters
Do Disability Employment Quotas Work?
People with disabilities (PwD) continue to face barriers to employment worldwide, with large gaps in employment between those with disabilities and those without. In Latin America and the Caribbean, for example, 24-35 year-old men with disabilities have a 24% lower employment rate than their non-disabled counterparts, and there’s a 12% disparity for similarly aged women. This … [Read more...] about Do Disability Employment Quotas Work?
True or False? Putting to the Test Our Knowledge of Disability
In Latin America and the Caribbean, one in seven people has a disability. Clearly, having a disability is not unusual, but part of human diversity, and as with characteristics such as race or gender, should not be cause for exclusion. That means that governments in the region should ensure the economic and social inclusion of people with disabilities so that they can … [Read more...] about True or False? Putting to the Test Our Knowledge of Disability
Boosting Financial Inclusion Among the Vulnerable
By 2021, only 31% of Chile's country's population over 15 had saved in a financial institution, with especially low rates among the very poor, depriving them of the benefits of a range of financial services, including savings accounts, credit, and insurance products. The issue of how to increase financial inclusion and, in the process, boost savings in in Latin … [Read more...] about Boosting Financial Inclusion Among the Vulnerable