Measuring is knowing?

Abstract

The years of my PhD have been an invaluable and for the most part enjoyable experience. I enjoyed the freedom that comes with a PhD, a luxury hard to match in the future. I enjoyed teaching and the thought that at least some students picked up a thing or two from my classes. I enjoyed doing research, cleaning and analyzing data, and presenting my work. But most of all I enjoyed meeting people, be it at work, at conferences, at summer schools, or during my research visit. It would not have been the same without your inspiration, support, and necessary distractions.Let me first thank my supervisors Arno Riedl, Hans Schmeets, Peter Werner, and Jona Linde. If it weren't for you and the project you hired me for, I probably would not have done a PhD. Thanks for believing in me back then and throughout the project. I learned a lot from each of you and am deeply grateful for your support and time (most of our meetings ran late). Arno, thanks for encouraging me to meet people, attend conferences and present my work. I don't think I realized at the start how invaluable these experiences are. Thanks also for keeping my spirits up with zucchini seedlings, Austrian cookies and chocolate, and dinner at your place. Hans, thanks for always providing a different perspective as my only non-econ supervisor; it helped to see the bigger picture. Thanks also for the beers and pizza in your beautiful garden. It is a great place to discuss future plans with your supervisors. Peter, thanks for always having your (virtual) door open to quickly discuss research, it really helped when I was stuck on something. You also impressed me with your ability to quickly write things up and yet your meticulousness when it comes to final work -even after multiple drafts of my chapters, you still managed to find mistakes. Jona, thanks for having borne the responsibility to make sure things moved forward. Thanks also for the nice dinner after helping you out with some oral exams. I am sure we will stay in touch.Next to my supervisors, I owe thanks to several others involved in the completion of this thesis. Seun, we were largely in the same boat. Thanks for sharing some of the same struggles. Thanks to Steffen Altmann, Thomas Dohmen, Alwin Oerlemans, Maarten Post, and Jeroen van Velzen for being part of the Advisory Committee and providing valuable comments and suggestions. Thanks to Lisa Br üggen, Thomas Dohmen, Rogier Potter van Loon, and Charles Sprenger for reading and assessing my thesis.Hoofdstuk 3 en 4 onderzoeken respectievelijk de stabiliteit van voorkeuren na levensgebeurtenissen en tijdens de COVID-19 crisis. Stabiele voorkeuren worden vaak impliciet verondersteld, maar het is belangrijk dat deze veronderstelling empirisch wordt gevalideerd. Hoofdstuk 3 onderzoekt het effect van een (recent) huwelijk, scheiding en ouderschap op risico-, tijds-en sociale voorkeuren. De bevindingen tonen aan dat er slechts enkele kortdurende effecten zijn. Belangrijk is echter dat de resultaten van de revealed en stated methoden grotendeels niet overeenkomen. Ho...