RESEARCH
Refereed Publications in International Journals
1. Chen, X., Kaiser, H. M. and Rickard, B. J. (2015). “The Impact of Inclusive and Exclusive Taxes on Healthy Eating: An Experimental Study,” Food Policy, 56(c), 13-24. [Download]
2. Chen, X., Hong, F. and Zhao, X. (2020). “Concentration and Variability of Forecasts in Artificial Investment Games: An Online Experiment on WeChat,” Experimental Economics, 23(4), 815-847. [Download]
Working Papers
1. Status and Hierarchy: Field Evidence from Vervet Monkeys, joint with Roberta Dessi (TSE), Riccardo Pansini (Yunnan Univ. of Finance and Economics) and Xiaojian Zhao (Monash Univ.). Rej and Resubmit at Economic Journal. [Download]
2. How time flies! joint with Xiaojian Zhao (Monash Univ.). R&R at Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics. [Download]
3. A Theoretical and Experimental Evaluation of Pay Transparency, joint with Ying-Ju Chen (HKUST), Xiaoshuai Fan (SUSTech) and Christopher Tang (UCLA). Rej and Resubmit at Management Science.
Research Grants
1. Chen, X., Kaiser, H. M. and Rickard, B. J. (2015). “The Impact of Inclusive and Exclusive Taxes on Healthy Eating: An Experimental Study,” Food Policy, 56(c), 13-24. [Download]
2. Chen, X., Hong, F. and Zhao, X. (2020). “Concentration and Variability of Forecasts in Artificial Investment Games: An Online Experiment on WeChat,” Experimental Economics, 23(4), 815-847. [Download]
Working Papers
1. Status and Hierarchy: Field Evidence from Vervet Monkeys, joint with Roberta Dessi (TSE), Riccardo Pansini (Yunnan Univ. of Finance and Economics) and Xiaojian Zhao (Monash Univ.). Rej and Resubmit at Economic Journal. [Download]
- Presented at: 2020 Economic Science Association Global Virtual Meeting; 2021 Latin American Meeting of the Econometric Society; 2021 Conference of Experimental Economics at Beijing Normal University.
- Abstract: What determines individual status in a group and do preferences exhibit a bias over status? Primate studies can shed light on this question, offering insights into the evolutionary roots of human behavior. Field experiments with groups of monkeys living in their natural habitat allow experimenters to alter the ability of specific individuals and study the effects on interactions within the group. We do this with three groups of vervet monkeys living in the South African savannah. Within each group, we grant two individuals an advantaged role in cooperation to obtain food in the treatment phase. Relative to the earlier, control phase, we find that the habitually high-ranking, dominant individuals receive fewer socially positive behaviors, while the newly advantaged individuals receive more. The high- ranking ‘leaders’ become significantly more aggressive, but less influential. We consider the implications for control and authority in organizations.
2. How time flies! joint with Xiaojian Zhao (Monash Univ.). R&R at Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics. [Download]
- Presented at: 2018 Economic Science Association Asia Pacific Meeting (Brisbane); SZU (Shenzhen); HIT (Shenzhen); 2019 Economic Science Association Asia Pacific Meeting (Abu Dhabi).
- Abstract: The paper points out a potential gap between intertemporal choices and time preference: The observed intertemporal decisions could be partly driven by a biased perception of time, and thus may not completely reveal the actual time preference. To test this conjecture, we explore the relationship between time perception and intertemporal choices by conducting a laboratory experiment, in which cognitive load is used as an instrument to manipulate time perception. We establish that the perceived time lengths for subjects with high cognitive load are shorter than those with low load. We also observe a correlation between an individual's time overestimation and his apparent impatience. Our study suggests that time perception indeed mediates part of the cognitive load's effect on intertemporal choices, calling for improving suboptimal time-related decisions as a result of potentially biased perception of how time flies.
3. A Theoretical and Experimental Evaluation of Pay Transparency, joint with Ying-Ju Chen (HKUST), Xiaoshuai Fan (SUSTech) and Christopher Tang (UCLA). Rej and Resubmit at Management Science.
Research Grants
- National Natural Science Funds of China (Grant No. 72003084, ongoing), Project Leader
- National Natural Science Funds of China (Grant No. 72073057, ongoing), Participant
- Guangdong Province Natural Science Funds (ongoing), Project Participant
- Shenzhen Philosophy & Social Sciences Planning Project (Grant No. SZ2021D020, ongoing)