UC San Diego

Individuals' consumption decisions constitute a key foundational block of economics. Although some intrinsic factors behind consumer decisions can be evaluated in a controlled setting, learning about the role of preferences and availability of information in other decisions requires changes by outside actors. The first chapter of my dissertation uses wagering choices made by individuals for an uncertain gamble to measure their attitudes toward risk. The second chapter looks at how characteristics of loans taken out by consumers change when a large supplier, with an atypical set of incentives, leaves the market. The final chapter looks at how increased demand for volunteers during elections, along with increased awareness by all consumers of election-related issues, impact individuals' takeup and intensity of volunteering, a consumption good