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In a field experiment, we studied the performance of an incentive scheme that combines a lottery-based reward for compliance with probabilistic sanctions for noncompliance. For one month, bus passengers who purchased a ticket on board a subset of buses operating in a medium-sized Italian city participated in a lottery awarding a €500 prize. The remaining buses—otherwise identical—were used as controls. We observed the amount of tickets sold on treated and control buses over three months, before, during, and after the introduction of the lottery. Results show that treated buses sold significantly more on-board tickets than control buses during the lottery period. In our setup, the estimated extra revenues from the ticket sales caused by the introduction of the lottery fell short of the amount of the total prizes raffled off. However, the incentive scheme proved cost-effective because not all the lottery prizes were claimed by winners. This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.

Shared attention effects on learning and memory demonstrate that experiences are amplified when we are not alone. Virtual reality poses new challenges to the study of co-presence. Above all, is coattending together with someone else’s avatar in an immersive VR setting comparable with shared experiences at a neural processing level? In the present study we investigate shared attention effects in VR for the first time. We recorded mismatch negativities (MMN) during an auditory roving paradigm, a well-known index of implicit perceptual learning. EEG responses to deviant and standard sounds were registered while subjects were alone ( Solo condition) or together ( Other condition) with a virtual avatar ( Virtual scenario) or physically present confederate ( Physical scenario). We found an overall main effect of co-presence on MMN revealed by a point-by-point 2 × 2 ANOVA, thereby replicating previous studies on physical co-presence. Additionally, we found no significant interaction between the scenario ( Physical vs. Virtual ) and co-presence ( Solo vs. Other ). Our results indicate that virtual immersive co-presence mimics physical co-presence.

The relative importance of a cultural component in the gender division of unpaid labour is still debated. Drawing on the epidemiological approach to the study of culture, we investigate the cultural component of gender inequality by examining whether gender asymmetries in housework and childcare in families with a migrant background relate to gender equity in the country of origin. Through multilevel models based on microlevel data (Istat SCIF survey), we examine the extent to which the division of household labour between immigrant partners living in Italy relates to gender equity in their origin country, proxied by the Global Gender Gap Index. We further analyse the changing importance of gender equity in the country of origin at different lengths of stay in the destination country. Immigrants from more (less) gender-equal countries display greater (lower) equality in the division of routine housework and childcare activities. However, gender equity in the origin country loses its importance for couples living in the destination country for a longer time. These findings point to a significant contribution of culture of origin to gender inequality in the intra-couple division of unpaid labour. Yet nonnegligible differences exist between specific housework and childcare tasks and depending on the time spent in the hosting country.

E-learning activities are becoming more and more common. Whilst it is well known that the physical presence of others motivates individuals to engage in perceptual and learning tasks, systematic investigations comparing the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on knowledge acquisition are still scarce. Here we investigate the effects of physical and virtual co-presence of others on explicit and implicit learning. In Experiment 1 (discovery sample), retrieval accuracy in a spatial memory task and EEG indexes (mismatch negativity-MMN) of implicit perceptual learning were recorded when participants were alone or in presence of another individual. In Experiment 2 (replicating sample), we added a “virtual” condition, where the same tasks were performed during a video-conference call. In both experiments, MMN was demonstrated to encode for perceptual learning as revealed by the significant correlation with Bayesian Surprise (a consolidated information-theoretic index of Bayesian learning). Furthermore, In Experiments 1 and 2 physical co-presence systematically ameliorated memorization performances and increased MMN indexes related to implicit learning. These positive effects were absent in the virtual condition, thus suggesting that only physical, but not virtual co-presence is effective in potentiating learning dynamics.

In previous work, Giuntella et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci 118:e2016632118, 2021), we documented large disruptions to physical activity, sleep, time use and mental health among young adults at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020. This study explores the trends 1 year into COVID-19, as vaccines began to roll out, COVID-19 deaths declined, and social distancing measures eased in the United States. We combine biometric and survey data from multiple cohorts of college students spanning Spring 2019 through Spring 2021 (N = 1179). Our results show persistent impacts of the pandemic on physical activity and mental health. One year into the pandemic, daily steps averaged about 6300 per day compared to about 9800 per day prior to the pandemic, a 35% decline. Almost half of participants were at risk of clinical depression compared to a little over one-third prior to the pandemic, a 36% increase. The impacts on screen time, social interactions and sleep duration at the onset of COVID-19 largely dissipated over the course of the pandemic, though screen time remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels. In contrast to the sharp changes in lifestyle and mental health documented as the pandemic emerged in March 2020, we do not find evidence of behavioral changes or improvements in mental well-being over the course of Spring 2021 as the pandemic eased.

This article deals with the relation between labour market regulation and the dynamics of overall employment and unemployment in continental Europe. We investigate the impact of the reforms of employment protection systems and activating welfare policies and test the integrative power of marginal labour market deregulation, assessing occupational outcomes of changing workforce exposure to unemployment and fixed-term contracts. Thus, particular attention is paid to the possible effect of ' institutionally driven' labour market segmentation, mirrored by the national discrepancy in employment protections of workers with distinct contractual arrangements and by the ratio of expenses on GDP in active versus passive labour market policies. We use pseudo-panel data based on European Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) (1992–2008) and apply linear fixed effect (FE) models with lagged independent variables. The deregulation measure—the insider-outsider differentials—is based on the OECD employment protection legislation index (EPL 2013). The overall findings indicate a detrimental effect of unbalanced passive and active labour market policies, a negative trend of permanent employment, and a 'honeymoon effect' of partial and targeted deregulation measures whose effectiveness on overall employment, if any, appears to be progressively weakened over time. The responsiveness of employment conditions to marginal EPL variations as well as to previous 'unstable employment situations' is significantly higher in Southern Europe. Temporary employment, if compared with unemployment, may still play a role in reducing individual subsequent unemployment risks, but its 'integrative effect' is hardly confirmed if we view fixed-term contracts as a stepping stone towards stable insertion into the primary labour market.

Labor market 'flexibilization' or 'deregulation' is seen by many as a requirement for economic and occupational growth. As one route towards more flexibility, many European countries increased the so-called atypical or non-standard forms of employment while leaving the regulation of existing employment relations largely unchanged. In Italy, this led to a strong segmentation of the labour market. As employment is the only connection to a series of welfare entitlements, this praxis might lead to strong cleavages in the society. In this paper, we investigate the ongoing process of labour market 'flexibilization' and its consequences for individual labour market careers and social inequalities and ask whether the deregulation has fulfilled the expectations attached to it. In detail, we study the entries into the marginal labour market and the consequences for employment careers of these forms of 'new' flexible employment. Empirical findings based on Indagine Longitudinale sulle Famiglie Italiane data cast doubts on the effectiveness of the specific form of market deregulation in Italy and confirm strong long-term implications of atypical employment episodes for career chances.