Erez Yoeli Profile picture
Research Scientist @MITSloan. Director @MIT_ACT. Lecturer @HarvardEcon @StanfordGSB. Coauthor Hidden Games. Motivating people to do good.
May 24, 2022 9 tweets 3 min read
In a post last week, @ATabarrok suggests we think of misinformation as an equilibrium outcome. In Ch 8 of Hidden Games, we do. Here's a short rundown.

Warning: for the sake of brevity, I'm using econ jargon.

marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolu… Image @ATabarrok's post focuses on outright lies, and on the role of behavioral biases (e.g., inattention) in permitting them to proliferate.

We focus on a different type of misinformation, that's arguably more common and pernicious: distorted presentation of information
Nov 25, 2021 18 tweets 9 min read
Our paper “Global Behaviors, Perceptions, and the Emergence of Social Norms at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic” is out in JEBO.

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

1/18 At onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, dramatic behavior change was needed: social distancing, closing schools and businesses, staying home, handwashing. 2/18
Jun 18, 2020 14 tweets 3 min read
Lately, everyone's been asking me how to recycle correctly.

The answer is, it depends and is really, really complicated, but here are two simple rules that, while imperfect, are probably an improvement over your current habits. #1 Don't recycle:

- Anything dirty, especially if it has food waste on it
- Anything that's not 100% recyclable

Recycling these things causes recyclers to throw out entire batches of recycling. When in doubt, leave it out.
Mar 13, 2020 13 tweets 5 min read
We were asked to design handwashing signs for COVID-19, and wanted to share how we approach designing such signs.

Here's what we make sure to do. Image #1: communicate the public good ("avoid spreading coronavirus; do your part to keep our community safe").

The goal is to activate people's (not-necessarily-conscious) concern for their reputation.
Feb 5, 2019 12 tweets 3 min read
New newsletter discussing insights from game theory on political spin.

tinyletter.com/hiddenincentiv…

Summary in this thread. Based on ongoing work with @moshe_hoffman 1/12 What are common features of spin? Why are they so common?

I'll illustrate with examples from recent political "debates" on social and mainstream media. Though such spin shows up in many other contexts (e.g., dating profiles, scientific research). 2/12