Luca Rigotti

Bio: Luca Rigotti is an academic researcher from University of Pittsburgh. The author has contributed to research in topics: Knightian uncertainty & Ambiguity aversion. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 34 publications receiving 1732 citations. Previous affiliations of Luca Rigotti include Tilburg University & Duke University.

Individual Behavior and Group Membership

Abstract: People who are members of a group and identify with it behave differently from people who perceive themselves as isolated individuals. This difference depends on two main factors. First, preferences over outcomes change with the degree of identification with the group. Second, this identification depends on the saliency of the group structure. This paper tests these hypotheses and shows that group membership affects preferences over outcomes, and saliency of the group affects the perception of the environment. In two strategic environments, Battle of the Sexes and Prisoner's Dilemma, we create groups by allocating subjects to be Row or Column players. We manipulate the saliency of group membership by letting a player's own group watch as a passive audience as decisions are made, and by making part of the payoff common for members of the group. There is a strong and significant effect of group membership: It increases the aggressive stance of the hosts (people who have their group members in the audience), and reduces the one of the guests. The effect on outcomes depends on the game: In the Battle of the Sexes, the aggressiveness of hosts leads to more coordination; in the Prisoner's Dilemma, it leads to less cooperation. In the first case efficiency is increased, while in the second it is diminished. We also test for differences between in-group and out-group behavior in Prisoner's Dilemma games. In contrast to the minimal-group paradigm of the social-psychology literature, minimal groups do not affect behavior in our strategic environment. We see strong differences between in-group and out-group behavior only when we increase the saliency of group membership by having a degree of common payoffs.

Individual Behavior and Group Membership

Abstract: People who are members of a group, and identify with it, behave differently from people in isolation. The way in which the behavior differs depends in subtle ways from the way in which the nature of the group is perceived, as well as its saliency, and also on the way in which people perceive that the behavior of others is affected by the group. We study these hypotheses in a strategic experimental environment. Participants are allocated randomly to two groups (Row and Column players), and a room is assigned to each group. The saliency of the group membership is manipulated by making the group present as an audience in the corresponding room, or not. We use two stage games, the Battle of the Sexes and Prisoner’s Dilemma. We show that the saliency of the group affects behavior of members, as well as the behavior of people in the other group, and that participants anticipate these effects. Group membership increases the aggressive stance of the hosts (people who have their group members in the audience). The effect on the outcomes of this increased aggressive stance depends on the game: In the Battle of the Sexes, the aggressiveness of hosts leads to coordination on an efficient, alternating outcome; in the Prisoner’s Dilemma, it leads to conflict and inefficient outcomes.

Uncertainty and Risk in Financial Markets

Abstract: This paper considers a general equilibrium model in which the distinction between uncertainty and risk is formalized by assuming agents have incomplete preferences over statecontingent consumption bundles, as in Bewley (1986). Without completeness, individual decision making depends on a set of probability distributions over the state space. A bundle is preferred to another if and only if it has larger expected utility for all probabilities in this set. When preferences are complete this set is a singleton, and the model reduces to standard expected utility. In this setting, we characterize Pareto optima and equilibria, and show that the presence of uncertainty generates robust indeterminacies in equilibrium prices and allocations for any specification of initial endowments. We derive comparative statics results linking the degree of uncertainty with changes in equilibria. Despite the presence of robust indeterminacies, we show that equilibrium prices and allocations vary continuously with underlying fundamentals. Equilibria in a standard risk economy are thus robust to adding small degrees of uncertainty. Finally, we give conditions under which some assets are not traded due to uncertainty aversion.

Your morals might be your moods

Abstract: We test the effect of mood on behavior in a gift-exchange game. To induce a ‘bad mood’, second movers watched a sad movie before playing the game; to induce a ‘good mood’, they watched a funny movie. Mood induction was effective: subjects who saw the funny movie reported a significantly better mood than those who saw the sad movie. These two moods lead to significant differences in behavior. We find that a bad mood implies more reciprocity while a good mood implies more generosity. Furthermore, first movers make more money when second movers are in a bad mood.

Subjective Beliefs and ex ante Trade

Abstract: We study a definition of subjective beliefs applicable to preferences that allow for the perception of ambiguity, and provide a characterization of such beliefs in terms of market behavior. Using this definition, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the efficiency of ex ante trade and show that these conditions follow from the fundamental welfare theorems. When aggregate uncertainty is absent, our results show that full insurance is efficient if and only if agents share some common subjective beliefs. Our results hold for a general class of convex preferences, which contains many functional forms used in applications involving ambiguity and ambiguity aversion. We show how our results can be articulated in the language of these functional forms, confirming results existing in the literature, generating new results, and providing a useful tool for applications.

Group Identity and Social Preferences

Abstract: We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of induced group identity on social preferences. We find that when participants are matched with an ingroup member, they show a 47 percent increase in charity concerns and a 93 percent decrease in envy. Likewise, participants are 19 percent more likely to reward an ingroup match for good behavior, but 13 percent less likely to punish an ingroup match for misbehavior. Furthermore, participants are significantly more likely to choose social-welfare-maximizing actions when matched with an ingroup member. All results are consistent with the hypothesis that participants are more altruistic toward an ingroup match. (

Culture and Institutions

Abstract: A growing body of empirical work measuring different types of cultural traits has shown that culture matters for a variety of economic outcomes. This paper focuses on one specific aspect of the relevance of culture: its relationship to institutions. We review work with a theoretical, empirical, and historical bent to assess the presence of a two-way causal effect between culture and institutions. ( JEL D02, D72, I32, J12, Z13)

Experimenter Demand Effects in Economic Experiments

Abstract: Experimenter demand effects refer to changes in behavior by experimental subjects due to cues about what constitutes appropriate behavior. We argue that they can either be social or purely cognitive, and that, when they may exist, it crucially matters how they relate to the true experimental objectives. They are usually a potential problem only when they are positively correlated with the true experimental objectives' predictions, and we identify techniques such as non-deceptive obfuscation to minimize this correlation. We discuss the persuasiveness or otherwise of defenses that can be used against demand effects criticisms when such correlation remains an issue.