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]
"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)
Unraveling gender norms: Personal and social norms in the preferential promotion of women (with Manuel Estevo Lago Rodríguez and Orla Doyle)
The inelastic demand for affirmative action (with Demid Getik and Marco Islam). European Economic Review, 2024, 170:104862.
Are economics conferences gender-neutral? Evidence from Ireland (with Kevin Devereux). Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 2024, 86(1):101-118. [podcast] [twitter]
Gender, productivity, and promotion in the Irish economics profession (with Kevin Devereux). Economics Bulletin, 2023, 43(3):1225-1234. [podcast]
Compliance spending aversion: An unintended consequence of charity regulation (with Leonhard K. Lades). Journal of Behavioral Public Administration, 2023, 6(1). [twitter]
Can ♥s change minds? Social media endorsements and policy preferences (with Pierluigi Conzo, Laura K. Taylor, Juan S. Morales and Andrea Gallice). Social Media + Society, 2023, 9(2). Erratum: Figure 5 right panel should be this. [twitter]
No mood effects in the field: The case of car inspections (with Håkan J. Holm). Journal of Economic Psychology, 2023, 96:102612. [twitter]
Too much commitment? An online experiment with tempting YouTube content (with Claes Ek). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2023, 208:21-38. [online appendices] [twitter]
Pay-what-you-want in competition. The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, 2020, 20(1):20180063. [pdf]
What drives home solar PV uptake? Subsidies, peer effects and visibility in Sweden (with Luis Mundaca). Energy Research & Social Science, 2020, 60:101319.
Curating social image: Experimental evidence on the value of actions and selfies (with Håkan J. Holm). Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2018, 148:83-104. [radio]
Venting and gossiping in conflicts: Verbal expression in ultimatum games. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 2017, 67:111-121.
Pay-what-you-want pricing schemes: A self-image perspective (with Goytom Abraha Kahsay). Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 2015, 7:17-28.
Effect of effort on self-image: Monotonically increasing self-image functions. Economics Bulletin, 2013, 33(1):152-157.
Behavioural economics for energy and climate change policies and the transition to a sustainable energy use: A Scandinavian perspective (with Luis Mundaca, Jonas Sonnenschein and Roman Seidl). In M. Lopes, C. Henggeler Antunes and K. B. Janda (Eds.), Energy and Behavior: Towards a Low Carbon Future, 2020, 45-87. London: Academic Press.
Perceived popularity and social influence (with Pierluigi Conzo, Andrea Gallice and Juan S. Morales)
Gender difference in evaluators’ confidence (with Martina Zanella)
Advanced Microeconomics - MSc Economics.
Decision Theory - MSc Economics.
Economics of Gender - BSc Economics.