Feedback, Confidence and Job Search Behavior [12.11.26]
Lecture by Jonas Radbruch from the Humboldt University Berlin in the Research Seminar in Economics, November 18.
Image: Pixabay/kalhh
Feedback about people’s abilities can influence how actively they search for work, but not everyone responds in the same way. A field experiment with job seekers in Addis Ababa examines how information about their cognitive skills relative to others affects their job search. On average, feedback improves the accuracy of people’s beliefs about their abilities and increases their search effort. The strongest responses come from people who initially underestimated their abilities and were willing to pay for feedback. For this group, feedback also increases employment and earnings, while other groups show little change. The findings suggest that feedback interventions can be more effective when they take recipients’ expectations and willingness to engage with the information into account.
Jonas Radbruch is an assistant professor at Humboldt University in Berlin. Prior to this, he was a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) in Bonn. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at IZA and a CESifo Research Network Affiliate. His research explores various topics in Behavioral Economics, Organizational Economics, Labor Economics, and Public Policy.
During the current winter term, outstanding international researchers are visiting the University of Hohenheim as part of the research seminar to present their work. In addition to attending the presentations, office hours often provide a unique opportunity to discuss topics with the visiting scholars.
Master’s students are also welcome to attend the research seminar and engage in conversation with the speakers as well as with doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and professors from the Department of Economics.
The presentation will take place on November 18, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. in HS 35 (Kavaliershaus).
