Imagine you could lie for $100 — and no one would ever know
Would you do it? A new study reveals how a single promise can tilt the scales toward honesty.
Professor Kjetil Bjorvatn
- Kjetil.Bjorvatn@nhh.no
- Telephone
- +47 55 95 95 85 / +47 472 52 861
- Department
- Economics
- Centre
- FAIR
- Office
- E226
- Expertise
- Development Economics Behavioural economics
BIOGRAPHY
Kjetil Bjorvatn has been a professor in economics since 2005. He received his PhD degree in economics from NHH in 1996. Bjorvatn is the leader of the FAIR Insight Team at the Centre of Excellence FAIR (Centre for Experimental Research on Fairness, Inequality and Rationality).
Bjorvatn’s main research interests are in the fields of economic development and behavioral economics. He has published a number of articles in these areas, among them:
“Ethnically biased? Experimental evidence from Kenya,” (2020) Journal of the European Economic Association (together with Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge, Simon Galle, Edward Miguel, Daniel N. Posner, Bertil Tungodden, and Kelly Zhang)
“Childcare, labor supply, and business development: Experimental evidence from Uganda,” (2025) American Economic Journal: Applied Economics (together with Denise Ferris, Selim Gulesci, Arne Nasgowitz, Vincent Somville, and Lore Vandewalle)
“Making a promise increases the moral cost of lying: Evidence from Norway and the United States,” (2025), Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization (together with Mathias Ekström, Pablo Sota Mota, and Hallgeir Sjåstad).
Bjorvatn was Dean of the Bachelor programme at NHH in the period 2009-2015. He has won several teaching awards and was appointed Excellent Teaching Practitioner in 2021.
Selected publications
| Author(s) | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Ferris, Denise; Gulesci, Selim; Nasgowitz, Arne; Somville, Vincent; Vandewalle, Lore | Childcare, Labor Supply, and Business Development: Experimental Evidence from Uganda | American economic journal. Applied economics Volume 17 (2); page 75 - 101; 2025 |
| Ekström, Mathias Philip; Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Soto Mota, Pablo Ignacio; Sjåstad, Hallgeir | Making a promise increases the moral cost of lying: Evidence from Norway and the United States | Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization Volume 233; 2025 |
| Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Ferris, Denise; Gulesci, Selim; Nasgowitz, Arne; Somville, Vincent; Vandewalle, Lore | Long-Term Effects of Preschool Subsidies and Cash Transfers on Child Development: Evidence from Uganda | AEA Papers and Proceedings Volume 114; page 459 - 462; 2024 |
| Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Somville, Vincent; Nasgowitz, Arne; Ferris, Denise; Gulesci, Selim; Vandewalle, Lore | Childcare, labor supply, and business development: Experimental evidence from Uganda | CEPR; 2022 |
Dissemination
Preschool subsidies and cash transfers have long-term health benefits for children
Subsidised access to full-day preschools in Uganda had long-term positive effects on children’s anthropometrics but not their learning outcomes. Cash transfers of a similar value as the preschool subsidy had a similar impact.
Transition from school to the world of Work Dissemination Workshop 2024
The policy conference on the transition from school to work among youth in Tanzania took place in Dar es Salaam, where FAIR researchers shared valuable insights on various topics within development economics.
– Helped us understand differences in prosperity
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economics goes to a trio who have studied differences in prosperity between nations. `An excellent award for those of us who are doing research on poverty and inequality,´ says Kjetil Bjorvatn.
Thousands are using the Curipod platform
NHH graduate Jens Aarre Seip wants to lower the threshold for asking questions during lectures. Now, the start-up has secured agreements with 11 Norwegian educational institutions, including NHH.
A new research and learning center for better results
Each year huge sums are invested in development programmes, but how effective are they? The Development Learning Lab aims to answer this.
Uganda project receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The new project, Women's Leadership in Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) has received funding for three years.
Conflict or cooperation? Experimental evidence on intra-household allocations in Ethiopia
New published paper in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics by Kjetil Bjorvatn (FAIR), Tigabu Degu Getahun (Ethiopian Development Research Institute) and Sandra Kristine Halvorsen (FAIR).
New FAIR Projects funded by the Research Council of Norway
FAIR is involved in three projects that have received funding from the Research Council of Norway.
Teaching through television: Experimental evidence on entrepreneurship education in Tanzania
New accepted paper in the journal Management Science, by Kjetil Bjorvatn, Alexander W. Cappelen, Linda Helgesson Sekei, Erik Ø. Sørensen and Bertil Tungodden.
A nudge in the right direction?
Can nudging become the solution to the greatest challenges of our time such as economic inequality and climate change?
Ethnically Biased? Experimental Evidence from Kenya
New published paper, in the Journal of the European Economic Association, titled "Ethnically Biased? Experimental Evidence from Kenya", by Lars Ivar Oppedal Berge, Kjetil Bjorvatn, Simon Galle, Edward Miguel, Daniel N. Posner, Bertil Tungodden and Kelly Zhang.
Fair's "Coffee with" series on Youtube
FAIR - Coffee with Oriana Bandiera
FAIR - Coffee with John List on the Voltage Effect
FAIR - Coffee with Alberto Alesina on social mobility
FAIR - Coffee with Lise Vesterlund on gender gaps
FAIR - Coffee with Marianne Bertrand on cultural distance
FAIR - Coffee with Edward Miguel