The Why Axis

Here’s a question millions of people asked after Super Bowl Sunday—is it worth paying more than $4 million for a 30 second ad on the Super Bowl? It seemed to work for Bank of America. Their one-minute commercial, featuring U2’s new single, Invisible, resulted in more than 3 million downloads in the 36 hours following the Super Bowl.

Career

Who Will Raise the Most for Charity?

John List on January 7, 2014

Why do people give to charity? It is more complicated than we might think, and self-interest plays a big role.

Why do people give to charity? It is more complicated than we might think, and self-interest plays a big role.

Bias

What 7 Words Can End Modern Discrimination?

Uri Gneezy on October 22, 2013

What seven words can end discrimination? And what is the reason for discrimination in the market in the first place? We ventured into an auto-repair shop...and a high-end boutique...to investigate.

What seven words can end discrimination? And what is the reason for discrimination in the market in the first place? We ventured into an auto-repair shop...and a high-end boutique...to investigate.

Gender

Why Are Women Paid Less Than Men?

John List on October 14, 2013

We go to the ends of the earth to investigate the cause of the gender earnings gap - is it nature, or nurture?

We go to the ends of the earth to investigate the cause of the gender earnings gap - is it nature, or nurture?

Altruism

What Can Opt-Out Boxes Teach Us About Giving to Charity?

John List on October 8, 2013

We worked on a new and daring solicitation technique to learn more about the psychology of giving. What happens when a charity allows the donor to 'opt-out' of receiving future requests? And what does this mean for our understanding of empathy, altruism?

We worked on a new and daring solicitation technique to learn more about the psychology of giving. What happens when a charity allows the donor to 'opt-out' of receiving future requests? And what does this mean for our understanding of empathy, altruism?