Margaret Samahita

Margaret Samahita

Assistant Professor

School of Economics

University College Dublin

About

I am Assistant Professor at the School of Economics, University College Dublin and Research Fellow at the Geary Institute for Public Policy. I hold a PhD in Economics from Lund University.

My research is in behavioural economics, where I use theoretical, empirical and (primarily) experimental methods to study individual decision-making. My current research focuses on the effects of social influence on online behaviour and political preferences. More recently, I am also interested in studying gender differences in economics and the causes and consequences of gender norms.

Research Interests: Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, Gender Economics, Political Economy

Contact: m.samahita@gmail.com

CV: [pdf]

Research

Working Papers

Strategic confidence? The gender confidence gap and anticipated discrimination in economics peer-review (with Martina Zanella)

"Luxury beliefs”: Signaling through ideology?

Can social pressure stifle free speech? (with Juan S. Morales) [twitter]

Anchoring and subjective belief distributions (with Håkan J. Holm, Erik Wengström and Roel van Veldhuizen)

 

Journal Articles

Lago, M. E., Samahita, M., & Doyle, O. (2025). Unraveling gender norms: Social and personal norms in the preferential promotion of women. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 115:102336.

Getik, D., Islam, M., & Samahita, M. (2024). The inelastic demand for affirmative action. European Economic Review, 170:104862. [twitter]

Samahita, M., & Devereux, K. (2024). Are economics conferences gender-neutral? Evidence from Ireland. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 86(1):101-118. [podcast] [twitter]

Devereux, K., & Samahita, M. (2023). Gender, productivity, and promotion in the Irish economics profession. Economics Bulletin, 43(3):1225-1234. [podcast]

Samahita, M., & Lades, L. K. (2023). Compliance spending aversion: An unintended consequence of charity regulation. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 6(1):1-30. [twitter]

Conzo, P.Taylor, L. K.Morales, J. S. ⓡ Samahita, M. ⓡ Gallice, A. (2023). Can ♥s change minds? Social media endorsements and policy preferences. Social Media + Society, 9(2). Erratum: Figure 5 right panel should be this. [the conversation] [twitter]

Samahita, M., & Holm, H. J. (2023). No mood effects in the field: The case of car inspections. Journal of Economic Psychology, 96:102612. [twitter]

Ek, C., & Samahita, M. (2023). Too much commitment? An online experiment with tempting YouTube content. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 208:21-38. [online appendices] [twitter]

Mundaca, L., & Samahita, M. (2020). What drives home solar PV uptake? Subsidies, peer effects and visibility in Sweden. Energy Research & Social Science, 60:101319.

Samahita, M. (2020). Pay-what-you-want in competition. The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, 20(1):20180063. [pdf]

Holm, H. J., & Samahita, M. (2018). Curating social image: Experimental evidence on the value of actions and selfies. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 148:83-104. [radio]

Samahita, M. (2017). Venting and gossiping in conflicts: Verbal expression in ultimatum games. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 67:111-121.

Kahsay, G. A., & Samahita, M. (2015). Pay-what-you-want pricing schemes: A self-image perspective. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 7:17-28.

Samahita, M. (2013). Effect of effort on self-image: Monotonically increasing self-image functions. Economics Bulletin, 33(1):152-157.

 

Book Chapter

Mundaca, L., Samahita, M., Sonnenschein, J. & Seidl, R. (2020). Behavioural economics for energy and climate change policies and the transition to a sustainable energy use: A Scandinavian perspective. In M. Lopes, C. Henggeler Antunes & K. B. Janda (Eds.), Energy and Behavior: Towards a Low Carbon Future, pp. 45–87. London: Academic Press.

 

Selected Work in Progress

Rebalancing work: Gender perception, job design, and occupational dynamics (with Demid Getik, Petra Thiemann and James Nunn)

Who is most influenced by sludge? Experimental evidence (with Glenn McNamara and Leonhard K. Lades)

Vulnerability to and acceptability of different types of sludge (with Leonhard K. Lades, Lucie Martin, Cass Sunstein and Martin Bækgaard)

Perceived popularity and social influence (with Pierluigi Conzo, Andrea Gallice and Juan S. Morales)

Teaching

Current Teaching

Advanced Microeconomics - MSc Economics.

Decision Theory - MSc Economics.

Economics of Gender - BSc Economics.