Luca

Luca

Behavioral Economics

Research

My research focuses on Behavioral Labor Economics and Organizational Economics, investigating how psychological pressure, cognitive biases, and institutional constraints shape decision-making in high-stakes environments.

Working Papers

The Negative Productivity of Strategic Flexibility: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Football

Job Market Paper | Single Authored
Download Working Paper (PDF)
Abstract: This paper exploits an exogenous rule change in professional football to isolate the causal effect of strategic flexibility on team performance. Using an instrumental variable approach, I show that increased choice in loss frames actually reduces productivity, highlighting a novel behavioral friction in high-stakes environments.

Resilient Workers, Biased Evaluators: Disentangling Performance from Assessment

With Alexander Rieber \& Dennis Steinle
Working Paper available upon request.
Abstract: By comparing objective, algorithmic performance metrics with subjective journalist ratings during empty-stadium “ghost games,” we show that minority workers’ objective output is remarkably resilient to hostile environments. Subjective evaluators, however, systematically penalize them—a bias that disappears when the hostile crowd is removed.

Doing Less, Trying Harder: Task Scarcity and Organizational Intensification

With Alexander Rieber \& Dennis Steinle
Working Paper available upon request.
Abstract: We exploit the 2023 contraction of the French Ligue 1 from 20 to 18 teams to show that mandated reductions in work episodes can trigger severe organizational intensification. Faced with a compressed margin for error, managers consolidate playing time on core specialists, while players respond with a 31% increase in tactical aggression.

A Comment on ‘The Opportunity Cost of Debt Aversion’

With Simon Maier, Sabrina Rittinger \& Dennis Steinle
I4R Discussion Paper

Selected Work in Progress