Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
Speaker: Sungjin Kim, Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaiʻi
Topic: The Unintended Consequences of Green Nudge Policies: Evidence from Single-Use Bag Policies
Time: 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Location: HA 966
Abstract: From time to time, policymakers have had to repeal pro-environment policies, such as “Green Nudges”, due to industry pressure and community resistance. The effect of such a repeal extends beyond the loss of direct benefits from the policy. Pro-environmental policies can indirectly generate significant non-targeted consumption behaviors (spillovers). After a repeal, a spillover may persist or dissipate over time. If the spillover is positive, we (at worst) revert to the pre-policy regime. However, if a negative spillover survives a repeal, we may be worse off than before. Consequently, we ask 1) Can repealing a green policy reverse negative consumption spillovers? In addition, policy changes can also induce negative production spillovers. Therefore, we investigate 2) Can a shift in green policies lead firms to adjust marketing strategy and cause negative spillovers? We answer these questions by comparing two single-use bag policy regimes - green nudge with repeal and green nudge only - in a quasi-experimental framework. We find that negative consumption spillovers persist after a policy repeal, albeit at a lower level than when the green nudge is not repealed. Further, we find negative spillovers emerge from the repeal as some firms respond to these regulation changes by increasing prices. We discuss implications for policymakers, firms, and regulators.
Date: Friday, April 1, 2022
Speaker: Cristina Conati, Department of Computer Science at UBC
Topic: AI-driven Personalized Support to Learning Beyond Problem Solving
Time: 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Location: HA 966
Abstract: There is extensive evidence that AI-based educational technology can effectively provide personalized support to help students learn problem solving skills in a variety of domains. In contrast, until recently there has been limited work on AI-based environments to support educational activities that are more exploratory in nature, such as learning from interactive simulations or playing educational games. These activities are becoming increasingly widespread, especially in the context of distant learning and other forms of self-directed learning, because they can increase motivation and foster grounded skills acquisition. However, not everyone can learn effectively from these activities, calling for AI-driven Learning Environments that can provide personalized support for open-ended exploratory learning, while interfering as little as possible with the unconstrained nature of the interaction.
In this talk, I will discuss the unique challenges of this endeavor, and our proposed solutions to address them, including how to devise AI-driven models that can track and react to open-ended behaviors beyond those traditionally addressed by analogous models for problem solving. I will also present our most recent results on the potential benefits of making such models explainable to their end users, especially if the explanations are personalized to each user’s specific needs.
Date: Friday, April 22, 2022
Speaker: Emily Garbinsky, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell University
Topic: TBA
Time: 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Location: HA 966
Abstract: TBA
Date: Friday, April 29, 2022
Speaker: Keisha Cutright, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
Topic: Perfectly Imperfect: How Thoughts of God Shape Consumer Preferences for Self-improvement Products and Artificial Intelligence
Time: 10:00AM - 11:30AM
Location: HA 966
Abstract: Despite its importance and relevance to so many of the world’s consumers throughout history and in the present day, limited research has examined the role of religion in consumers’ decision-making. Spanning two projects, this talk addresses this gap by exploring how thoughts of God influence the products that people prefer (self-improvement products vs. non-self-improvement products) and the product recommendations they embrace (human vs. artificial intelligence). An understanding of how people view human imperfection when God is salient is central to both sets of findings.
