Theses

1. Topic

The topic of your thesis should be related to the unit’s research focus areas. You can apply for one of the open topics or suggest a topic of your own. If you choose an open topic, please directly contact the supervisor mentioned in the topic description. In case you want to suggest a topic yourself or if you have general questions, please feel free to contact Marcel Lumkowsky.

2. Assignment

After you have discussed your topic with your prospective supervisor, you can hand in your formal application. The application must contain the following elements:

• Proposal
  The proposal contains a maximum of 2 pages. It includes the background and motivation of your thesis and formulates a clear research question that you intend to answer within the thesis. In addition, it includes a detailed description of the methodological approach you intend to use. For quantitative research, please outline the methodological fundamentals as well as available data. In case of theoretical or literature-based research, the relevant literature in particular must be described.
• Structure of the thesis
  Briefly outline the structure of your thesis. The length of the sections and subsections should reflect their importance within the thesis. Do not include more than three structural levels.
• Curriculum Vitae
• Overview of courses and grades of your current study program
• Contact sheet

3. Revision of the proposal

After consultation with us, a revision of the proposal and the structure may be necessary. After the successful revision of the proposal the first examiner will officially register the thesis at the examination office.

4. Registration

After the official registration of your thesis at the examination office, you will have to complete your thesis within the frame set by your examination regulations. You will receive a letter with information about the registration and deadline of your thesis from the examination office.

Bachelor thesis Requirements:

• Successful completion of a course offered by our department.
• Good ability to systematically research, obtain and analyze scientific literature (mostly in English)

In addition, further specific prerequisites may apply to individual topics. The prerequisites must be fulfilled at the time the topic is assigned.

For your own topic suggestions, please note the following guidelines:

• In Bachelor theses, questions are possible that are answered exclusively with the help of a literature review. Please note that you should already name a very concrete question that represents the basis for the literature review. It is not sufficient to mention only a general keyword or phenomenon (e.g., loss aversion or polarization) as a possible topic. Empirical work is also possible in the context of a Bachelor thesis. In particular, replications of published experiments or econometric analyses are possible.

Currently, the following topics for Bachelor theses are advertised: 

• Social and economic correlates of country-level meat and dairy supply
• Co-Management of small-scale fisheries

In the past, the following topics were studied in Bachelor theses: 

2023

• Motivationale Auswirkungen und Potenziale von Gamification-Methoden im Kontext von dezentralen Arbeitsmodellen
• Welche Auswirkungen hatte die Covid-19 Pandemie auf die Lebensmittelverschwendung der Haushalte?
• Online vs. Labor – Eine vergleichende Analyse der Umgebung in der experimentellen Ökonomie
• Der Einfluss der Illusion of Control und des Near-Miss Effekts auf das Glücksspielverhalten von Individuen
• Do people accept nudging?
• Einfluss verhaltensökonomischer Interventionen auf das Recyclingverhalten bei Plastik: Eine systematische Literaturrecherche
• Natürliche Feldexperimente in Zusammenarbeit mit karitativen Organisationen: Ein Literaturüberblick über Gegenstand und Ergebnisse der Forschung seit dem Jahr 2010
• Replikationsstudie „Beeinflussen verbale Nudges die Entscheidung der Verbraucher für nachhaltige Mode?“
• Der Anker-Effekt im Hinblick auf das Fällen von Kaufentscheidungen

2022

• Tap water versus bottled water consumption: Motivational factors and the impact of environmental information on intended behavior
• How can food waste nudges change consumer behavior and how can they be improved? A systematic literature review
• Does provision of information influence the intended bottled water consumption?

2021

• Do younger generations drink less bottled water?
• Ein Stups in die richtige Richtung? - Die Wirksamkeit und Legitimität von Nudging im Kontext des Energieverbrauchs
• Wirtschaftliche Folgen der Ausbreitung der pazifischen Auster im Wattenmeer

2020

• Nachhaltigkeit in der Küche – Ein Vergleich der Treibhausgasemissionen von veganer und omnivorer Ernährung
• Mit Carbon Capture aus der Klimakrise?
• Ökonomische Bedeutung invasiver Arten am Beispiel des Waschbären

2019

• Unethical Workplace Behavior
• Transboundary Cooperation: A Look at International River Treaties
• Plastic Bag Consumption - Governmental and Behavioral Approaches to Reduce the Amount of Plastic Bags
• Pro-Environmental Behavior Spillovers

2017

• A collection of views on geoengineering

Master thesis Requirements:

• Successful completion of a course offered by our department (at Master level)
• Good ability to systematically research, obtain and analyze scientific literature (mostly in English)
• Successful completion of a course with econometric content (including exercise with statistical software) or of the course "Quantitative Methods of Experimental Economics"

In addition, further specific prerequisites may apply to individual topics. The prerequisites must be fulfilled at the time the topic is assigned.

For your own topic suggestions, please note the following guidelines:

• In Master theses, it is mandatory to conduct one's own quantitative empirical analysis. Data can stem from own data collection or publicly available data. In the case of own research proposals, the research question must be as concrete as possible; in addition, information on methodology and data should be provided. Topics based on purely qualitative data collection (e.g., interviews) cannot be submitted.

Currently, the following topics for Master theses are advertised: 

• Cooperative and punitive behavior of fishers on Lake Victoria
• Social and economic correlates of country-level meat and dairy supply
• A Tax is (Not) a Fine? Examining the Framing of Pigouvian Taxes in an Environmental Context

In the past, the following topics were studied in Master theses: 

2024

• Zwischen Politik und Praxis: Der Zusammenhang von politischer Orientierung und umweltfreundlichem Verhalten
• Investigating the role of fishers' social identity in cooperative behavior
• Green Nudges - Der Einfluss von Transparenz einer verhaltensökonomischen Intervention auf das Autonomieempfinden der Betroffenen

2023

• The effects of democracy on ambition and credibility of Paris Agreement climate pledges
• An observational research to find the effects of environmental information and conformity on food choices

• Impact of the livelihood diversification on behaviour - based on a resource extraction game with fishers located in Uganda
• How to get people to use ashtrays – field experimental evidence on the impact of gamification and information to reduce cigarette butt littering
• Peak-end rule: The evaluation of pleasurable and unpleasurable experiences
• Comparative analysis of values and pro-environmental behavior in Germany and Armenia
• Risk attitudes and compliance behavior of small-scale fishermen
• Terminology change and voluntary climate action: A field experimental analysis of the effect of word choice on contributions
• Green nudge intervention to reduce meat consumption at the university restaurant
• Can green nudges help reduce retail food waste? A survey experiment on consumer behavior in Germany
• Cooperation and strategy choice in the infinitely repeated Prisoner's Dilemma when players can cheat

2022

• Examining German Millennials’ purchase intention towards sustainably packed cosmetic products 
• Social norms, observability and food choices 
• How do years of experience and place identity of Tanzanian fishers at Lake Victoria influence self-reported compliance behavior? 

2021

• Der Effekt von Informationen und sozialen Normen auf den Konsum von Trinkwasser aus PET-Einwegflaschen - Ergebnisse eines Survey-Experiments 
• The effect of knowledge about health and environmental impacts of bottled water on consumption - Results from survey data 
• The reframing of climate change as a health problem and its influence on the acceptance of the CO2 price in Germany 
• Conspicuous Vegetarianism – Experimental Evidence on Observability, Information and Sustainable Behavior 

2020

• The Role of Nudges in Changing Consumer’s Behavior Toward Energy Efficiency 
• Economic Preferences and Corruption: An empirical Analysis with the Global Preference Survey 
• Using Normative Influence to Promote Pro-Environmental Behavioral Change: A Cross-Cultural Perspective 
• The Link between Time Preferences, First Language, Savings Behaviour and Health 

2019

• Cooperation and Strategy Use in the infinitely repeated Prisoner's Dilemma: An experimental Investigation 
• The First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol: Compliance or Defiance 
• Strenght in numbers: On competition and resources of resilience in women and men 
• Does competition increase cheating behavior in teenagers? 
• Spenden für Klimaschutz: Feldexperiment zum Spendenverhalten von KinobesucherInnen für Klimaschutz in ihrem Kino 
• Explaining Fishery decision of fisherman in the multispecies fishery of Lake Victoria 
• Perception of 2C target 
• Experimental Investigations in Economics of Discrimination 
• Die Bedeutung von Step Returns: Eine Meta-analyse von Public Good Games mit einem Grenzwert 

2018

• How Conditional and Prestigious Thank-you Gifts Impact Giving 
• Factors that affect the views of climate negotiators 
• Common Pool Resource Games - A Meta-Analysis 
• Competitiveness and honesty of left-behind children in China: a lab in the field experiment 

2017

• Cheating to Win or Cheating to Keep Up: Online Experiment 
• Views of Climate Negotiators - An empirical analysis