Dr David Smerdon is a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) in the School of Economics. He primarily works in behavioral and development economics. His research involves theory and modelling, experiments in the lab and field, and microeconometric analysis in order to investigate topics at the intersection of these fields.
David earned his PhD from the Tinbergen Institute and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) as a General Sir John Monash scholar, and afterwards worked as a PODER fellow at Bocconi University in Milan. His research often involves collaboration with non-academic partners, ranging from aid agencies and NGOs like US AID and Save the Children, to tech companies like Chess.com.
Prior to his academic career, David spent three years working for the Australian Department of Treasury as a policy analyst. David is also a chess Grandmaster and has represented Australia at seven chess Olympiads. Combining his passions, David occasionally conducts niche research in chess economics on topics such as gender inequality, cheating, and the life cycle of cognitive performance, supported by organisations such as the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and Chessable.
David's research motivation is focussed on policy-relevant issues, particularly those where behavioural economics can be applied to social policy. Examples of recent projects include:
Journal Article: Cooperation in the time of COVID
Butterworth, Jade, Smerdon, David, Baumeister, Roy and von Hippel, William (2023). Cooperation in the time of COVID. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17456916231178719. doi: 10.1177/17456916231178719
Other Outputs: Report: 2023 FIDE Gender Equality in Chess Index (GECI)
Smerdon, D., Meyer, C. B., Reizniece-Ozola, D., Rodrigo-Yanguas, M. and Sorokina, A. (2023). Report: 2023 FIDE Gender Equality in Chess Index (GECI). Lausanne, Switzerland; Brisbane, QLD, Australia: FIDE; The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/9bb291f
Journal Article: The effect of masks on cognitive performance
Smerdon, David (2022). The effect of masks on cognitive performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (49) e2206528119, 1-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2206528119
Behavioural Macroeconomics and the Australian Housing Market
(2020–2023) Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
Norm Maintenance Behaviour: Strong Reciprocity as a Maintenance Mechanism
Doctor Philosophy
Is the Gender Equality Paradox Real? A machine learning test across multiple domains
Over the past decade, a number of studies in social psychology have reported a “gender equality paradox” in different domains. The general format of the main result in these papers is similar: A significant, negative correlation is reported between the gender equality of a country and the share of women in a stereotypically men-dominated field or trait (for example, the share of STEM graduates who are women). These results are often reported as paradoxical because it might be assumed that countries with stronger rights and opportunities for women would contain more equal representation in typically men-dominated fields. Domains in which gender equality paradoxes have been found include educational choices, occupational choices, personality traits, personal values, academic publishing, participation in tennis and chess, and even the naming of babies.
The gender equality paradox has thus been used as evidence for biological differences in preferences and skills, most notably by popular commentators such as Jordan B. Peterson. However, most studies that report a paradox have come under some form of criticism, usually because of the reliance on cross-country correlational data or the statistical methods employed.
The proposed project will:
This project would suit a student who:
Readings:
Breda, T., Jouini, E., Napp, C., & Thebault, G. (2020). Gender stereotypes can explain the gender-equality paradox. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(49), 31063-31069.
Falk, A., & Hermle, J. (2018). Relationship of gender differences in preferences to economic development and gender equality. Science, 362(6412), eaas9899.
Marsh, H. W., Parker, P. D., Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Niepel, C., & Van Zanden, B. (2021). Illusory gender-equality paradox, math self-concept, and frame-of-reference effects: New integrative explanations for multiple paradoxes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(1), 168.
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2018). The gender-equality paradox in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Psychological Science, 29, 581–593. doi:10.1177/0956797617741719
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2020). The gender-equality paradox is part of a bigger phenomenon: Reply to Richardson and colleagues (2020). Psychological science, 31(3), 342-344.
Vishkin, A. (2022). Queen’s gambit declined: The gender-equality paradox in chess participation across 160 countries. Psychological science, 33(2), 276-284.
Cooperation in the time of COVID
Butterworth, Jade, Smerdon, David, Baumeister, Roy and von Hippel, William (2023). Cooperation in the time of COVID. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17456916231178719. doi: 10.1177/17456916231178719
The effect of masks on cognitive performance
Smerdon, David (2022). The effect of masks on cognitive performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119 (49) e2206528119, 1-8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2206528119
The social capital effects of refugee resettlement on host communities*
Albrecht, Sabina and Smerdon, David (2022). The social capital effects of refugee resettlement on host communities*. Economic Record, 98 (320), 80-112. doi: 10.1111/1475-4932.12654
Jachimowicz, Jon M., Szaszi, Barnabas, Lukas, Marcel, Smerdon, David, Prabhu, Jaideep and Weber, Elke U. (2020). Higher economic inequality intensifies the financial hardship of people living in poverty by fraying the community buffer. Nature Human Behaviour, 4 (7), 702-712. doi: 10.1038/s41562-020-0849-2
Female chess players show typical stereotype-threat effects: commentary on Stafford (2018)
Smerdon, David, Hu, Hairong, McLennan, Andrew, von Hippel, William and Albrecht, Sabina (2020). Female chess players show typical stereotype-threat effects: commentary on Stafford (2018). Psychological Science, 31 (6), 956797620924051-759. doi: 10.1177/0956797620924051
‘Everybody’s doing it’: on the persistence of bad social norms
Smerdon, David, Offerman, Theo and Gneezy, Uri (2019). ‘Everybody’s doing it’: on the persistence of bad social norms. Experimental Economics, 23 (2), 392-420. doi: 10.1007/s10683-019-09616-z
Longevity of outstanding sporting achievers: mind versus muscle
Tran-Duy, An, Smerdon, David C. and Clarke, Philip M. (2018). Longevity of outstanding sporting achievers: mind versus muscle. PLoS one, 13 (5) e0196938, e0196938. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196938
Report: 2023 FIDE Gender Equality in Chess Index (GECI)
Smerdon, D., Meyer, C. B., Reizniece-Ozola, D., Rodrigo-Yanguas, M. and Sorokina, A. (2023). Report: 2023 FIDE Gender Equality in Chess Index (GECI). Lausanne, Switzerland; Brisbane, QLD, Australia: FIDE; The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/9bb291f
Everybody's doing it: On the Emergence and Persistence of Bad Social Norms
Smerdon, David, Offerman, Theo and Gneezy, Uri (2016). Everybody's doing it: On the Emergence and Persistence of Bad Social Norms. Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers. 16-023/I. Tinbergen Institute.
Behavioural Macroeconomics and the Australian Housing Market
(2020–2023) Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
Norm Maintenance Behaviour: Strong Reciprocity as a Maintenance Mechanism
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.
Is the Gender Equality Paradox Real? A machine learning test across multiple domains
Over the past decade, a number of studies in social psychology have reported a “gender equality paradox” in different domains. The general format of the main result in these papers is similar: A significant, negative correlation is reported between the gender equality of a country and the share of women in a stereotypically men-dominated field or trait (for example, the share of STEM graduates who are women). These results are often reported as paradoxical because it might be assumed that countries with stronger rights and opportunities for women would contain more equal representation in typically men-dominated fields. Domains in which gender equality paradoxes have been found include educational choices, occupational choices, personality traits, personal values, academic publishing, participation in tennis and chess, and even the naming of babies.
The gender equality paradox has thus been used as evidence for biological differences in preferences and skills, most notably by popular commentators such as Jordan B. Peterson. However, most studies that report a paradox have come under some form of criticism, usually because of the reliance on cross-country correlational data or the statistical methods employed.
The proposed project will:
This project would suit a student who:
Readings:
Breda, T., Jouini, E., Napp, C., & Thebault, G. (2020). Gender stereotypes can explain the gender-equality paradox. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(49), 31063-31069.
Falk, A., & Hermle, J. (2018). Relationship of gender differences in preferences to economic development and gender equality. Science, 362(6412), eaas9899.
Marsh, H. W., Parker, P. D., Guo, J., Basarkod, G., Niepel, C., & Van Zanden, B. (2021). Illusory gender-equality paradox, math self-concept, and frame-of-reference effects: New integrative explanations for multiple paradoxes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 121(1), 168.
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2018). The gender-equality paradox in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Psychological Science, 29, 581–593. doi:10.1177/0956797617741719
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2020). The gender-equality paradox is part of a bigger phenomenon: Reply to Richardson and colleagues (2020). Psychological science, 31(3), 342-344.
Vishkin, A. (2022). Queen’s gambit declined: The gender-equality paradox in chess participation across 160 countries. Psychological science, 33(2), 276-284.