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Field
Abstract
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Before
Legal or administrative barriers—such as employment bans for asylum seekers—can prevent people from working even when they initially would like to. This study examines whether such temporary barriers reduce people’s willingness to work even after the barriers are removed and explores possible mechanisms driving this effect.
In a multi-day online experiment, participants repeatedly choose between a well-paid work option and a lower-paid leisure option. In one treatment, participants are repeatedly prevented from carrying out the work option they choose and are instead assigned to leisure, creating a situation in which access to work is externally restricted. In a control group, participants always have full access to the work option.
The central hypothesis is that being repeatedly prevented from working reduces participants’ subsequent willingness to choose the work option, even once access is restored. Possible mechanisms explored include reduced motivation and habit formation.
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After
Legal or administrative barriers—such as employment bans for asylum seekers—can prevent people from working even when they initially would like to. This study examines whether such temporary barriers reduce people’s willingness to work both during periods of restricted access and after the barriers are removed and explores possible mechanisms driving these effects.
In a multi-day online experiment, participants repeatedly choose between a well-paid work option and a lower-paid leisure option. In one treatment, participants are repeatedly prevented from carrying out the work option they choose and are instead assigned to leisure, creating a situation in which access to work is externally restricted. In a control group, participants always have full access to the work option.
The main goal of the study is to analyse whether participants who repeatedly experience restricted access to work choose the work option less often once full access is restored. In addition, the study examines work choices during the restriction period.
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