I present a framework to explain how experiences are different from products, and how these differences influence consumers' processing and evaluation of experiences versus products, before choice. I define an experience as an event or series of events that a consumer lives through, while a product is a tangible object, kept in one's possession (Van Boven and Gilovich 2003). Experiences are central to consumers' lives and to businesses, but most consumer research so far has focused on tangible objects, paying less attention to intangibles such as experiences (Carter and Gilovich 2012; Holbrook and Hirschman 1982; Sun, Tat Keh, and Lee 2012). My framework has two parts. In the first part I suggest that the evaluation of experiences is associated with uncertainty and multidimensionality and that, as a consequence, experiences are better evaluated through holistic processing rather than analytic processing. In the second part I study how these differences influence consumers' processing and evaluation of experiences compared to products. I suggest that experiences are evaluated closer to the self, more vividly, and more in the form of narratives.

The fluctuation of a bilateral exchange rate in a target zone is often chosen as part of official agreements between two or more countries (such as in the European Monetary System - EMS) or of informal unilateral monetary policy packages a country adopts for itself. The defendability of such a regime in the face of asymmetric shocks is always an issue. In this paper, we examine a long period in the life of the EMS and we argue that the increase in volatility in the interest rates could help identifying periods of possible impending crisis for the exchange rates. Our framework provides a way to put to test the quality of the reaction by monetary authorities and to relate perceived weakness to subsequent episodes of realignment in the central parity.

We examine ten years of Italian Lira one month Eurodeposit daily between 1983 and 1993 addressing three empirical questions:

Is interest rate volatility a measure of the perceived degree of vulnerability of the institutional agreements and hence a good predictor of the timing of realignments?

Does the adoption of a new central parity always bring about an immediate increase in the level of credibility?

Are there episodes in which an increase in volatility is successfully countered and hence does not lead to a realignment?

We analyze these questions in the framework of a Markov Switching ARCH model which accomodates the volatility clustering features in the interest rates and the presence of economically interpretable regimes.

Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. experience unique sociocultural contexts that shape their cardiometabolic health. Sleep and physical activity relate to cardiometabolic health and may play a role in health inequities among Hispanic/Latino adults. This 3-paper dissertation aimed to elucidate associations of sleep, physical activity, and cardiometabolic health by examining: (1) neighborhood environmental influences on multidimensional sleep health; (2) associations of average sleep and sleep variability with physical activity; and (3) how daily physical activity and sleep relate to blood glucose in pregnant individuals with diabetes.

Study 1 used data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL; 2008-2011) to investigate how neighborhood macro-environmental features (e.g., walkability, socioeconomic deprivation) related to multidimensional sleep health in 342 Hispanic/Latino adults in San Diego. Multivariable regression models adjusted for stratification and clustering found few statistically significant associations. Greater levels of air pollution were associated with later sleep midpoint, while greater social disorder was associated with earlier sleep midpoint. Lower walkability was associated with more wake after sleep onset (i.e., lower sleep quality). Study 2 used cross-sectional data from the HCHS/SOL (N=2156 participants from multiple Hispanic/Latino heritage groups living in 4 urban U.S. regions). Analyses accounted for complex survey design (stratification, clustering, sampling weights). Contrary to hypotheses, lower objectively measured sleep duration and greater variability in sleep midpoint were associated with greater physical activity. Study 3 used multilevel modeling to examine associations of daily physical activity (i.e., steps, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) and sleep duration with postprandial and next day fasting blood glucose in 17 pregnant women with diabetes enrolled in a 12-week pilot physical activity intervention. Between- and within-person effects were tested. While this secondary analysis of pilot data was underpowered to detect statistical significance, the directions of associations were in line with previous research linking greater steps and sleep duration with lower postprandial and next day fasting blood glucose, respectively.

Findings elucidate relationships between behaviors and cardiometabolic health in Hispanic/Latino adults but raise questions regarding the relative health benefits of different sleep health dimensions and types/settings of physical activity. Future research may clarify whether sleep promotion interventions relate to improved glycemic management.