Rene Schwaiger, PhD

Rene Schwaiger, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher and Senior Lecturer at the Department of Banking and Finance, University of Innsbruck; Scientific Coordinator of Lab Operations at the Innsbruck EconLab. I study environmental economics, experimental finance, and metascience.

Posts by Collection

portfolio

publications

Determinants of investor expectations and satisfaction. A study with financial professionals

Published in Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, 2019

We investigate determinants of price expectations and satisfaction levels of financial professionals and students.

Recommended citation: Schwaiger, R., Kirchler, M., Lindner, F., & Weitzel, U. (2020). Determinants of investor expectations and satisfaction: A study with financial professionals. Journal of Economic Dynamics & Control, 110, 103675.

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Do MTurkers exhibit myopic loss aversion?

Published in Economics Letters, 2021

We present results from a highly powered online experiment with 937 participants on Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) that examined whether MTurkers exhibit myopic loss aversion (MLA).

Recommended citation: Schwaiger, R., Hueber, L. (2021). Do MTurkers exhibit myopic loss aversion?. Economics Letters, 209, 110137.

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Mean markets or kind commerce?

Published in Journal of Public Economics, 2022

Does market interaction influence morality? We study a particular angle of this classic question theoretically and experimentally.

Recommended citation: Dufwenberg, M., Stenman, O.J., Kirchler, M., Lindner, F., Schwaiger, R., (2022). Mean markets or kind commerce?. Journal of Public Economics, 2019, 104648.

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Debiasing through experience sampling: The case of myopic loss aversion

Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2022

We introduce a training intervention based on a novel tool to mitigate behavior consistent with myopic loss aversion (MLA).

Recommended citation: Hueber, L., Schwaiger, R. (2022). Debiasing through experience sampling: The case of myopic loss aversion. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 198, 97-138.

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Nudging debtors to pay their debt: Two randomized controlled trials

Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2022

We conducted two large-scale, highly powered randomized controlled trials intended to encourage consumer debt repayments.

Recommended citation: Holzmeister, F., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., Schwaiger, R. (2022). Nudging debtors to pay their debt: Two randomized controlled trials. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 198, 535-551.

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Unequal opportunities, social groups, and redistribution: Evidence from Germany

Published in Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 2022

In this paper we investigate the generalizability of the role of unequal opportunities and social group membership in redistributive preferences and examine the interaction between these two dimensions.

Recommended citation: Schwaiger, R., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., Kleinlercher, D. (2022). Unequal opportunities, social groups, and redistribution: Evidence from Germany. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 100, 101911.

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Carbon Pricing, Carbon Dividends and Cooperation: Experimental Evidence

Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2024

We investigated whether carbon taxes with and without carbon dividends improve cooperative behavior to mitigate simulated climate change.

Recommended citation: Bachler, S., Flecke, S.L., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., Schwaiger, R., (2024). Carbon Pricing, Carbon Dividends and Cooperation: Experimental Evidence, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 225, 37-50.

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Nature Experiences and Pro-Environmental Behavior: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial

Published in Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2024

Exposure to nature is positively associated with pro-environmental behavior, though causal evidence to date is limited. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with N=542 participants, to explore whether a one-time encounter with nature can lead individuals to behave more pro-environmentally.

Recommended citation: Flecke, S.L., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., Schwaiger, R., (2024). Nature Experiences and Pro-Environmental Behavior: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 99, 102383.

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Replication by Plebiscite: Examining the Replicability of Online Experiments Selected by a Decision Market

Published in Nature Human Behaviour, 2024

We implemented a decision market on 41 systematically selected MTurk social science experiments published in PNAS between 2015 and 2018. Social scientists traded on the outcome of direct replications, knowing that certain studies would be selected for replication based on market prices.

Recommended citation: Holzmeister, F., Johannesson, M., Camerer, C. F., Chen, Y., Ho, T-H., Hoogeveen, S., Huber, J., Imai, N., Imai, T., Jin, L., Kirchler, M., Ly, A., Mandl, B., Manfredi, D., Nave, G., Nosek, B. A., Pfeiffer, T., Sarafoglou, A., Schwaiger, R., Wagenmakers, E-J., Waldén, V., Dreber, A. (2024). Replication by Plebiscite: Examining the Replicability of Online Experiments Selected by a Decision Market. Nature Human Behaviour, 9, 316-330.

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The Consequences of Narrow Framing for Risk-Taking: A Stress Test of Myopic Loss Aversion

Published in Management Science, 2025

Narrow bracketing in combination with loss aversion has been shown to reduce individual risk-taking. This is known as myopic loss aversion (MLA) and has been corroborated by many studies.

Recommended citation: Schwaiger, R., Strucks, M., Zeisberger, S. (2025). The Consequences of Narrow Framing for Risk-Taking: A Stress Test of Myopic Loss Aversion. Management Science, 72(2), 1324-1340.

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Adaptation vs mitigation: Battling climate misbeliefs

Conceptualization, 2026

A work-in-progress project studying whether crowds or AI can correct climate misinformation more effectively.

Recommended citation: Duchene, S., Strucks, M., Nguyen Huu, A., & Schwaiger, R. (2026). Adaptation vs mitigation: Battling climate misbeliefs. Work in progress.

Decision flexibility, not information feedback, explains myopic loss aversion

Under review at European Economic Review, 2026

A working paper with Stefan Zeisberger and Michael Strucks on the mechanism behind myopic loss aversion.

Recommended citation: Schwaiger, R., Zeisberger, S., & Strucks, M. (2026). Decision flexibility, not information feedback, explains myopic loss aversion. Working paper.

#ManyDesignsCarbon: Do behavioral interventions increase support for carbon pricing?

Under review at Nature Human Behaviour, 2026

A many-designs crowd-science project studying whether behavioral interventions increase real-world support for carbon pricing.

Recommended citation: Blanco, E., Holzknecht, A., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., Schwaiger, R., et al. (2026). #ManyDesignsCarbon: Do behavioral interventions increase support for carbon pricing? Preprint.

What determines first-round contributions in the private solution trap?

Programming of code, 2026

A work-in-progress project connected to the private solution trap in collective action problems across 34 nations.

Recommended citation: Ertl, A., Flecke, S. L., Kiss, H., Malthouse, E. M., & Schwaiger, R. (2026). What determines first-round contributions in the private solution trap? Work in progress.

Can researchers extract significant results from any given experiment? An adversarial investigation of strategic analyses

Pre-registration and data collection, 2026

A work-in-progress project on analytical flexibility, strategic analyses, and research credibility.

Recommended citation: Baumeister, R., Clark, C., Kirchler, M., Schwaiger, R., Szaszi, B., Tetlock, P., Tice, D., Vora, P., & Uhlmann, E. (2026). Can researchers extract significant results from any given experiment? An adversarial investigation of strategic analyses. Work in progress.

Visible tax dividends and support for carbon pricing: Evidence from Austria

Data analysis and write-up, 2026

A work-in-progress project on visible tax dividends and public support for carbon pricing in Austria.

Recommended citation: Bender, J., Blanco, E., Holzknecht, A., Huber, J., Kirchler, M., & Schwaiger, R. (2026). Visible tax dividends and support for carbon pricing: Evidence from Austria. Work in progress.

The private solution trap in collective action problems across 34 nations

Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2026

A large cross-national study of collective action problems examining how private adaptation options can undermine public-solution dynamics.

Recommended citation: Malthouse, E., Pilgrim, C., Sgroi, D., Accerenzi, M., Alfonso, A., Ashraf, R. U., Baard, M., Banerjee, S., Belianin, A., Bhattacharjee, S., Bhattacharya, M., Branas-Garza, P., Cardenas, J., Carriquiry, M., Choi, S., Clochard, G., Denzon, E. E., Dessoulavy-Sliwinski, B., Dini, G., Dong, L., Ertl, A., Exadaktylos, F., Filiz-Ozbay, E., Flecke, S. L., Galeotti, F., Garcia-Munoz, T., Hanaki, N., Hollard, G., Horn, D., Huang, L., Iris, D., Kiss, H. J., Koch, J., Kovarik, J., Kwarteng, O. K. B., Lange, A., Leites, M., Leung, T. H., Lim, W., Morren, M., Nockur, L., Okyere, C. Y., Oudah, M., Ozkes, A. I., Page, L., Park, J., Pfattheicher, S., Proestakis, A., Ramos, C., Ramos-Sosa, M., Sanjaya, M. R., Schwaiger, R., Sene, O., Song, F., Spycher, S., Stanek, R., Tanchingco, N., Tavoni, A., te Velde, V., Vazquez-De Francisco, M. J., Visser, M., Wang, J. T., Wang, W., Weng, W., Werner, K., Wijayanti, A., Winkler, R., Wooders, J., Ying, L., Zhen, W., & Hills, T. (2026). The private solution trap in collective action problems across 34 nations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 123(12), e2504632123.

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talks

PhD Seminar

Published:

Research presentation in the PhD seminar at the University of Innsbruck.

PhD Thesis Defence

Published:

Defence of the dissertation “Essays on Social Preferences and Cognitive Biases: An Experimental Approach.”

SFB Workshop 2024

Published:

Workshop presentation at the University of Innsbruck.

teaching

PS Financial Management

Undergraduate Course, University of Innsbruck, Department of Banking and Finance, 2018

This undergraduate course covers the fundamental principles of financial management, including financial planning, capital budgeting, and financial analysis.

Supervision of Bachelor Theses

Undergraduate Supervision, University of Innsbruck, Department of Economics, 2018

I supervised bachelor theses on various topics within economics and finance, providing guidance on research methodologies, data analysis, and academic writing.

Bachelor’s Seminar

Undergraduate Seminar, University of Innsbruck, Department of Economics, 2021

This seminar course is designed for final-year undergraduate students to present and discuss their research projects. It provides a platform for students to receive feedback and improve their work before submission.

Core Module Corporate Finance

Graduate Course, Danube University Krems, MBA Program, 2021

This MBA core module covers advanced topics in corporate finance, including financial strategy, valuation, and corporate governance.

Corporate Decision-Making

Undergraduate Course, University of Innsbruck, B.Sc. Management and Economics, 2022

This course examines corporate decision-making in economic and societal context. I teach the seminar from 2022 onward and taught the lecture in winter 2024/25.

Supervision of Master’s Theses

Graduate Supervision, University of Innsbruck, M.Sc. Banking and Finance, 2024

Supervision of master’s theses in the areas of banking, finance, behavioral economics, and sustainability. Guidance is provided along every stage of the research project.

Supervision of Bachelor’s Theses

Undergraduate Supervision, Amsterdam Business School, B.Sc. Economics and Business Economics, 2024

Supervision of bachelor’s theses in the B.Sc. Economics and Business Economics program at Amsterdam Business School.

Portfolio College Expert

Professional Course, Hypo Tirol Bank, 2024

This recurring professional seminar focuses on advanced portfolio management strategies, investment analysis, and risk management. It is designed for professionals seeking to enhance their expertise in financial markets and portfolio management.

Ethical Reflections and Sustainability (Lecture and Seminar)

Graduate Course, University of Innsbruck, M.Sc. Banking and Finance, 2025

This lecture and seminar sequence explores ethical frameworks, sustainability principles, and their implications for financial markets and corporate decision-making. Students develop an understanding of responsible management and the societal impacts of financial activity.

International Finance

Graduate Course, Danube University Krems, MBA Program, 2025

This MBA lecture introduces participants to core concepts in international financial markets, exchange rate dynamics, and cross-border investment decisions. It provides an analytical understanding of global financial integration and its implications for corporate decision-making.