Decision-making and networks among adolescents

Abstract

Experimental economics provides empirical evidence on fundamental economic questions since it allows direct observation of the economic behavior of individuals and groups in a particular context. Despite the growing popularity and development of this approach, children and adolescents are not usually included in the samples analyzed. However, in recent years, understanding the behavior of the youngest individuals has become increasingly evident. Understanding how adolescents make economic decisions is crucial in order to determine their subsequent behavior in their adulthood. In fact, findings have been reported demonstrating the relationship between both periods. Adolescence is characterized by a non-trivial set of changes for individuals. Exploring the underlying preferences and motivations of adolescents also allows for improving the design of more effective public policies or interventions. Thus, research on this type of subjects is becoming more and more common, although the effort to obtain reliable data is higher, since some methodological adjustments need to be considered in the experiments. One of the main problems observed in the literature is the low number of consistent responses—proof of the need to tailor the experimental tasks to the abilities of these subjects. In addition, it is also important to highlight the role of their interactions, both positive and negative. During adolescence, your friends can determine your future achievements or failures. Nonetheless, the amount of available data suitable for adolescent research is not extensive. This thesis addresses these problems. It is divided into two parts, the first one focuses on how to collect data from adolescents and the second one focuses on the analysis through social network technique.