Essays in Behavioral Economics

This thesis consists of three chapters. Each of these chapters examines the effect of non-monetary factors, such as an individual’s psychological closeness to a co-partner, the gender of an opponent, and the ethnicity of a potential mate, on the individual decision-making.
The first chapter studies individual behavior in contests when individuals have preferences for status or relative standing. More specifically, it investigates whether the psychological closeness between contestants influences effort decisions in a contest for a prize. It does so by extending the Tullock contest model to include a social component.
The second chapter examines the effect of an opponent’s gender on individual decisions in contests. It hypothesizes that women exert more effort when competing against women than against men. Analogously, it is hypothesized that men expend more effort against men than against women. To test for the opponent’s gender effect, a contest lab experiment is conducted in which participants’ names are displayed to signal the opponent’s gender.
The third chapter investigates the relevance of ethnicity in mate selection in Switzerland. Specifically, it examines whether people in Switzerland have same-ethnic mate preferences. Furthermore, it examines the importance of ethnicity relative to other characteristics, such as education level of potential partners. A discrete choice experiment is conducted, in which participants choose their preferred mate profile from a list of three during ten subsequent choice tasks.

This thesis consists of three chapters. Each of these chapters examines the effect of non-monetary factors, such as an individual’s psychological closeness to a co-partner, the gender of an opponent, and the ethnicity of a potential mate, on the individual decision-making.
The first chapter studies individual behavior in contests when individuals have preferences for status or relative standing. More specifically, it investigates whether the psychological closeness between contestants influences effort decisions in a contest for a prize. It does so by extending the Tullock contest model to include a social component.
The second chapter examines the effect of an opponent’s gender on individual decisions in contests. It hypothesizes that women exert more effort when competing against women than against men. Analogously, it is hypothesized that men expend more effort against men than against women. To test for the opponent’s gender effect, a contest lab experiment is conducted in which participants’ names are displayed to signal the opponent’s gender.
The third chapter investigates the relevance of ethnicity in mate selection in Switzerland. Specifically, it examines whether people in Switzerland have same-ethnic mate preferences. Furthermore, it examines the importance of ethnicity relative to other characteristics, such as education level of potential partners. A discrete choice experiment is conducted, in which participants choose their preferred mate profile from a list of three during ten subsequent choice tasks.