Florencia Hnilo

Graduate Student Research Funding | 2023–2024 Academic Year

RCTs and Belief Distortion (previously called 'Breaking Ties?')

In a context where randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are performed regularly by academics, NGOs, and governments, I propose exploring the side effects this method might have on the beliefs of the exposed population. Specifically, I want to study the behavioral responses to the nearly impossible in-practice “blinding” of RCTs conducted in small communities through a first pilot that varies assignment methods of an agricultural intervention. If the method used by researchers and policymakers is interfering with how people perceive eligibility and the desirability of the practices through changes in belief processing and subsequent behavior, my project can improve the practice.

Florencia Hnilo, Department of Economics

Florencia Hnilo is a PhD student in economics at Stanford University. Her research combines development economics, economic history, and behavioral economics to study the determinants and consequences of violence and discrimination. Before her studies at Stanford, she worked as a research assistant at the University of San Andrés, Argentina, and as an external research assistant for Professor Alberto Cavallo at the Harvard Business School. Florencia holds a BA in economics from the University of Buenos Aires and a MA in economics from the University of San Andrés.

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