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J. Michelle Brock

J. Michelle Brock

Associate Director, Senior Research Economist

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J. Michelle Brock is a Senior Research Economist in the Office of the Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Her research focuses on: social professional norms; attitudes toward risk and uncertainty; and inequality of opportunity. She is currently developing a project to study the role of risk attitudes in the choice to migrate abroad, and the link between migration and entrepreneurship. Her work on inequality of opportunity includes macroeconomic assessments of inequality of opportunity and perceptions in the transition region, as well as microeconomic projects on gender and finance.

Michelle also studies how professional and social norms influence worker effort, and how non-monetary incentives can be used to complement wages. One example is a study on whether image concerns can be used to incentivize professionalism among judges in Tajikistan.

Michelle’s work contributes to understanding how unfair circumstances and uncertainty of returns impact individual decision-making. She investigates these topics through the lens of behavioral economics. Using experimental economics, randomized controlled trials and household surveys, she aims to establish links between the laboratory environment and the field. She completed her PhD at the University of Maryland in 2011.

Personal website (external website - opens in new window).

Research interests

Gender and Inclusion: Gender and finance, Inequality of opportunity, Ex-ante inequality

Uncertainty and perceptions: Attitudes towards risk and uncertainty, Uncertainty and entrepreneurship

Development Economics: Water infrastructure, Gender, Public service professionals, Behavioral incentives

Education

2011 - Ph.D. Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland
2008 - M.Sc. Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Maryland
2002 - B.Sc. Environmental Economics and Policy, University of California, Berkeley

Journal articles

J.M. Brock and Ralph De Haas (2023). "Gender discrimination in small business lending. Evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment in Turkey." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 15(2), pages 31-68.

K.N. Vasilaky & J.M. Brock  (2020). “Power (ful) guidelines for experimental economists.” Journal of the Economic Science Association, 6(2), 189-212.

J.M. Brock. (2020). “Unfair inequality, governance and individual beliefs.” Journal of Comparative Economics, (48)3, 658-687.

J. M. Brock, A. Lange and K.L. Leonard (2018). “Giving and Promising Gifts: Experimental Evidence on Reciprocity from the Field.” Journal of Health Economics, 58, 188-201.

J.M. Brock, A. Lange and E.Y. Ozbay (2016). "Dictating the Risks: Experimental Evidence on Giving in Risky Environments: Reply." American Economic Review, vol. 106(3), pages 840-42.

J.M. Brock, A. Lange and K.L. Leonard (2016). "Generosity and Prosocial Behavior in Healthcare Provision: Evidence from the Laboratory and Field." Journal of Human Resources, 51(1), 133-162.

J.M. Brock, A. Lange and K.L. Leonard (2015). "Esteem and Social Information: On Determinants of Prosocial Behavior of Clinicians in Tanzania." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, vol. 118, pages 85-94.

J.M. Brock, A. Lange and E.Y. Ozbay (2013). "Dictating the Risks: Experimental Evidence on Giving in Risky Environments." American Economic Review, vol. 103(1), pages 415-37.

Working papers

J.M. Brock and M. Bussolo. (2023). “Inequality of opportunity and investment choices.” EBRD working paper No. 280.

Elcin Akcura, Leon Bost and J. Michelle Brock. (2023). “Household response to improvements in water infrastructure: Evidence from peri-urban Kyrgyz Republic.” EBRD working paper No. 277.

J.M. Brock and F. Dalla Pozza. 2021. "Return migrants and the mobility transition."

J.M. Brock and M. Koch. 2021. “Entrepreneurial motive, ambiguity attitudes and willingness to compete.” CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP16559.

J.M. Brock. 2017. “Self-worth versus net worth: image motivation and the quantity-quality trade-off.” CEPR Discussion Paper No. DP12208.

J.M. Brock. 2016. “Inequality of opportunity and beliefs about success and failure.” EBRD working paper No. 187.

J.M. Brock. (2016). “Inequality of opportunity and beliefs about success and failure.” EBRD working paper No. 187.

J.M. Brock (2014). “Self-worth versus net worth: image motivation and the quantity-quality trade-off.” EBRD working paper No. 182.

Policy writing, books and reports

J. Adema, C.G. Aksoy, J.M. Brock. 2021. "Teleworking, AI and the Labour Force. " EBRD Transition Report 2021-2022, Chapter 3.

C.G. Aksoy, J.M. Brock, F. Dalla Pozza and P. Poutvaara (2018). “International Migration.” EBRD Transition Report 2018-2019, Chapter 3.

J. M. Brock, V. Peragine and S. Tonini (2016). “Inequality of Opportunity.” EBRD Transition Report 2016-2017, Chapter 3.

J.M. Brock, R. Greenberg, B. Rambousek and C. Wolff (2013). "Economic Inclusion in Transition." EBRD Transition Report, Chapter 5, pp. 81-98.

J.M. Brock, K.L. Leonard, M.C. Masatu and P. Serneels (2013). "Health Worker Performance." In: Soucat. Agnes, Richard M. Scheffler, with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Eds.) The Health Labor Market in Africa: A New Look at the Crisis. Washington DC: World Bank. 

K.L. Leonard, P. Serneels and J. M. Brock (2013). "Intrinsic Motivation." In: Soucat, Agnes, Richard M. Scheffler, with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Eds.) The Health Labor Market in Africa: A New Look at the Crisis. Washington DC: World Bank.