Outputs (5)

Intersectionality: Affirmative Action with Multidimensional Identities (2024)
Journal Article
Carvalho, J.-P., Pradelski, B. R. S., & Williams, C. (online). Intersectionality: Affirmative Action with Multidimensional Identities. Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.03839

Studying the design of affirmative action policies when identities are multidimensional, we provide a formal demonstration of the importance of intersectionality. Prevailing affirmative action policies are based only on one identity dimension (e.g.,... Read More about Intersectionality: Affirmative Action with Multidimensional Identities.

Influencing Search (2024)
Journal Article
Janssen, M. C. W., & Williams, C. (online). Influencing Search. The RAND Journal of Economics, https://doi.org/10.1111/1756-2171.12475

We show that in search markets an influencer who recommends a product to her followers improves consumer surplus and total welfare despite the firm paying for her recommendation. As consumers learn their value for the product upon search, they will n... Read More about Influencing Search.

Consumer Search and Product Returns in E-Commerce (2024)
Journal Article
Janssen, M., & Williams, C. (2024). Consumer Search and Product Returns in E-Commerce. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 16(2), 387-419. https://doi.org/10.1257/mic.20230040

E-commerce has led to a surge in products being returned after purchase. We analyze product returns as resulting from a trade-off between the social waste of returns and the search efficiency gains of being able to inspect a product’s value after pur... Read More about Consumer Search and Product Returns in E-Commerce.

Resisting Education (2024)
Journal Article
Carvalho, J., Koyama, M., & Williams, C. (2024). Resisting Education. Journal of the European Economic Association, https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvae008

Educational institutions not only build human capital; they also shape culture. We present a model of cultural dynamics produced by cultural transmission through the education system. Groups that are culturally marginalized become economically disadv... Read More about Resisting Education.

Echo Chambers: Social Learning under Unobserved Heterogeneity (2023)
Journal Article
Williams, C. (2024). Echo Chambers: Social Learning under Unobserved Heterogeneity. The Economic Journal, 134(658), 837–855. https://doi.org/10.1093/ej/uead081

People are often more influenced by opinions similar to their own and even seek information from those with whom they expect to most agree—behaviors often attributed to irrational biases. In this paper, I argue that these behaviors can be understood... Read More about Echo Chambers: Social Learning under Unobserved Heterogeneity.