David Gill

James Brooke Henderson Professor
Economics

Education

Ph.D., Economics, University of Oxford

David Gill is the James Brooke Henderson Professor in the Department of Economics at the Daniels School of Business.

You can find David's C.V., publications and full contact information at http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~gill53.

David is an applied microeconomist who uses game theory and experiments to understand behavior. David's current research interests include the effects of cognitive skills on strategic behavior and life outcomes. David's research has been published in journals such as the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy and the Journal of Economic Theory.

Before coming to Purdue, David worked at the University of Oxford and the University of Southampton. At Oxford, David was Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and the Roger Van Noorden Fellow at Hertford College.

Research interests: Behavioral Economics, Experimental Economics, Game Theory

Journal Articles

Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2023). "Strategic complexity and the value of thinking." Economic Journal | Related Website |
Fe, E. & Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2022). "Cognitive skills, strategic sophistication, and life outcomes." Journal of Political Economy | Related Website |
Clark, D. & Gill, D. & Prowse, V. & Rush, M. (2020). "Using goals to motivate college students: Theory and evidence from field experiments." Review of Economics and Statistics | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Kissova, Z. & Lee, J. and Prowse, V. (2019). "First-place loving and last-place loathing: How rank in the distribution of performance affects effort provision." Management Science | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2019). "Measuring costly effort using the slider task." Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2016). "Cognitive ability, character skills, and learning to play equilibrium: A level-k analysis." Journal of Political Economy | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Thanassoulis, J. (2016). "Competition in posted prices with stochastic discounts." Economic Journal | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Stone, R. (2015). "Desert and inequity aversion in teams." Journal of Public Economics | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2014). "Gender differences and dynamics in competition: The role of luck." Quantitative Economics | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Prowse, V. & Vlassopoulos, M. (2013). "Cheating in the workplace: An experimental study of the impact of bonuses and productivity." Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Prowse, V. (2012). "A structural analysis of disappointment aversion in a real effort competition." American Economic Review | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Sgroi, D. (2012). "The optimal choice of pre-launch reviewer." Journal of Economic Theory | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Stone, R. (2010). "Fairness and desert in tournaments." Games and Economic Behavior | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Thanassoulis, J. (2009). "The impact of bargaining on markets with price takers: Too many bargainers spoil the broth." European Economic Review | Related Website |
Gill, D. (2008). "Strategic disclosure of intermediate research results." Journal of Economics and Management Strategy | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Sgroi, D. (2008). "Sequential decisions with tests." Games and Economic Behavior | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Lipsmeyer, C. (2005). "Soft money and hard choices: Why political parties might legislate against soft money donations." Public Choice | Related Website |
Gill, D. & Sgroi, D. (2004). "Sequential decision-making and asymmetric equilibria: An application to takeovers." B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics | Related Website |

New Framework Shows How Theory-Of-Mind Ability in Childhood Affects Adult Outcomes
Understanding the relationship between childhood cognitive skills and adult outcomes has important implications for policymakers, educators, and even parents who strive to get their kids through school well-prepared to launch a successful career, professors Victoria Prowse and David Gill show.
Full story: New Framework Shows How Theory-Of-Mind Ability in Childhood Affects Adult Outcomes
Research Examines How Creativity Pays Off
Victoria Prowse and David Gill examine a study that has followed almost every individual born in the UK in March 1958 throughout their life and shows that their creativity as children predicts their success later in life.
Full story: Research Examines How Creativity Pays Off
Higher Performance
Balancing the need to provide an affordable, accessible education with a commitment to transforming students’ lives and preparing them for the future is an ongoing challenge in higher education. New research from economists at Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management finds that task-based goal setting can help on both fronts as a low-cost and logistically simple approach to improving students’ course performance.
Full story: Higher Performance