Persone Costanza Usai

Costanza Usai

Costanza Usai is a Research Fellow at the University of Florence.  

Her research focuses on prosocial behaviors, exploring topics such as monetary donations and blood donations, as well as sustainable behaviors, such as attitudes towards urban waste recycling and the promotion of sustainable means of transportation in urban areas.

Costanza Usai holds a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation from the University for Foreigners of Siena, a Master's Degree in Economics and Development (curriculum in Economics) from the University of Florence, and a PhD in Economics from the University of Siena.

 

Thesis Projects:

Optimal Information in Charity Donations: The main objective of my research is to observe how different types of information (self-impact info, output-impact info) and different types of donors (warm-glow altruists, pure altruists) impact the endowment allocation choice in a Dictator Game with a Non Profit Organization (NPO) as recipient. 

The Effect of Xenophobic Politics on Locals' and Immigrants' Prosocial Behavior: This study examines how anti-immigrant rhetoric in politics affects prosocial behavior, using data on blood donations from the Associazione Volontari Italiani del Sangue (AVIS). By analyzing municipal elections, we aim at finding that higher support for anti-immigration parties leads to reduced civic engagement, measured by a decline in blood donations, among both locals and immigrants.

Proximity matters: exploring the influence of distance on gender differences in blood donation dropouts: In this project we aim at studying factors influencing the gender gap observed in the blood donation context. In particular, we want to observe if there is a different probability of dropping out from blood donation activity for men and women, taking into consideration the distribution of donors on the territory and the distances from their addresses and the nearest blood donation centers. 

Other Projects:

Do I want to ride my bicycle? Welfare Effects, Habit Formation, and Projection Bias in Cycling (I-RIDE): This project aims to design and implement a field experiment in the city of Florence to test whether interventions targeting habit formation and/or correcting biased beliefs can effectively change urban travel modes, specifically promoting a shift from car use to bicycle use.

Collaboration with ALIA Servizi Ambientali Spa:
 Survey analysis on social norms concerning recycling habits in Florence;
2. Evaluation of the introduction of a new tariff (“Tariffa Corrispettiva”) on the recycling habits in Florence.