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on Experimental Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒06‒17
39 papers chosen by |
| By: | Grosch, Kerstin; Fischer, Sabine |
| Abstract: | This study examines gender differences in overconfidence, focusing on overestimation (individuals’ perception of their performance relative to their actual performance) and overplacement (individuals’ perception relative to the performance perception of others). Conducting large-scale lab experiments with over 1000 participants in Ghana, a non-WEIRD country, we measure overestimation and overplacement in an incentivized manner. Contrary to previous findings, our study reveals no significant gender differences in overestimation in a male-typed task where men outperform women and subjects anticipate this gender difference. Similarly, there are no significant gender differences in overplacement within the same gender. Moreover, individuals who overestimate their performance are more likely to believe they outperformed others, regardless of gender. Overall, results indicate gender equivalence in overconfidence. Notably, gender differences in overplacement emerge only when comparing performance estimates with the opposite gender, with women more inclined to view themselves as inferior to men. |
| Keywords: | Overconfidence; gender differences; lab experiment; Sub-Saharan Africa; null results |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus055:62979319&r= |
| By: | Klaus Abbink (Monash University); Gaurav Datt (Monash University); Lata Gangadharan (Monash University); Digvijay Negi (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Bharat Ramaswami (Ashoka University) |
| Abstract: | Are in-kind transfers associated with deadweight losses? To answer this question, we conducted an incentivized field experiment in India and offered low-income respondents the choice between a free quantity of rice and varying amounts of cash to elicit their willingness to pay for rice. Contrary to expectation, we find evidence of deadweight gain on average, though with a striking contrast between a deadweight loss among women from female-headed households and a deadweight gain among women from male-headed households. After investigating alternative mechanisms, our results highlight that greater bargaining power of women within households increases the propensity to choose cash over rice. |
| Keywords: | cash transfer; deadweight loss; field experiment; food subsidy; in-kind transfer |
| Date: | 2024–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ash:wpaper:110&r= |
| By: | Christoph Engel (Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn & University of Bonn); Max R. P. Grossmann (University of Cologne); Axel Ockenfels (University of Cologne & Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Large Language Models (LLMs) have the potential to profoundly transform and enrich experimental economic research. We propose a new software framework, “alter_ego”, which makes it easy to design experiments between LLMs and to integrate LLMs into oTreebased experiments with human subjects. Our toolkit is freely available at github.com/mrpg/ego. To illustrate, we run differently framed prisoner’s dilemmas with interacting machines as well as with humanmachine interaction. Framing effects in machine-only treatments are strong and similar to those expected from previous human-only experiments, yet less pronounced and qualitatively different if machines interact with human participants. |
| Keywords: | Software for experiments, large language models, humanmachine interaction, framing |
| JEL: | C91 C92 D91 O33 L86 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ajk:ajkdps:302&r= |
| By: | Goerg, Sebastian J. (TUMCS for Biotechnology and Sustainability, Technical University Munich, Straubing, Germany); Himmler, Oliver (University of Erfurt, Germany); König, Tobias (Department of Economics and Statistics) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the contagion effects of norm-violating behavior across decision situations. Through a series of laboratory and field experiments, we empirically establish the conditions under which norm-breaking behavior in one decision situation leads individuals who observe this to violate norms in other, distinct decision situations. Our laboratory findings show that these spillover effects are more pronounced when the norms underlying the decision situations are perceived to be similar. However, spillovers can also affect decision situations governed by relatively dissimilar norms if the observers of norm violations have had the opportunity to first violate the same norm as the observed violator themselves. In an accompanying field experiment, we underscore the economic importance of norm similarity for spillover effects. When workers are exposed to information about celebrities evading taxes, they exhibit significantly higher rates of workplace theft than those in the control group, yet this exposure does not negatively affect work morale. |
| Keywords: | Norms; Cheating; Peer Effects; Tax Evasion; Workplace Theft; Work Effort; Conditional Compliance; Unethical Behavior |
| JEL: | A12 C93 D01 D03 |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:vxesta:2024_008&r= |
| By: | Drichoutis, Andreas C.; Palma, Marco; Feldman, Paul |
| Abstract: | Previous literature analyzing the effects of incentive compatibility of experimental payment mechanisms is dominated by theory. With overwhelming evidence of theory violations in a multiplicity of domains, we fill this gap by empirically exploring the effects of different payment mechanisms in induced preference elicitation using a large sample of over 3800 participants across three experiments. In Experiment 1, we collected responses for offer prices to sell a card like in Cason and Plott (2014), systematically varying on a between-subjects basis the way subjects received payments over repeated rounds, by either paying for all decisions (and various modifications) or just one, as well as making the payments certain, probabilistic or purely hypothetical. While we find that the magnitude of the induced value and the range of the prices used to draw a random price significantly affect misbidding behavior, neither the payment mechanism nor the certainty of payment affected misbidding. In Experiment 2, we replaced the BDM mechanism with a second price auction and found similar results, albeit less misbidding rates. In Experiment 3, we examine the effect of payment mechanisms on choice under risk and find portfolio effects (i.e., paying all rounds) when the lottery pairs do not involve options with certainty. Overall, our empirical exercise shows that payment mechanism design considerations should place more weight on the choice architecture rather than on incentive compatibility. |
| Keywords: | Becker-DeGroot-Marschak mechanism, second price auction, risk choices, preference elicitation, choice architecture |
| JEL: | C80 C91 D44 |
| Date: | 2024–05–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120898&r= |
| By: | Muehlheusser, Gerd (University of Hamburg); Promann, Timo (University of Hamburg); Roider, Andreas (University of Regensburg); Wallmeier, Niklas (University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies unethical behavior by groups and provides systematic evidence on how lying decisions are affected by group size and group gender composition. We conduct an online experiment with 1, 677 participants (477 groups) where group members can communicate with each other via a novel video chat tool. Our key findings are that (i) larger groups lie more, (ii) all-male groups stand out in their proclivity to lie, (iii) already the first female in a group causes an honesty shift, and (iv) group behavior cannot be fully explained by members' individual honesty preferences. |
| Keywords: | group decisions, unethical behavior, lying, gender differences, online experiment, group video chat |
| JEL: | C92 J16 D70 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16954&r= |
| By: | Virginia Cecchini Manara; Eleonora Ciscato; Pietro Guarnieri; Lorenzo Spadoni |
| Abstract: | The urgency of climate, biodiversity, and pollution crises has prompted international and national institutions to move beyond the prevention and mitigation of damages and to design policies aimed at promoting ecological restoration. In this paper, we address this emerging policy challenge by presenting experimental evidence on individuals’ propensity to contribute to restoration activities. Specifically, our design links a common pool resource game to a public good game to investigate how previous resource exploitation influences restoration decisions. We find that history matters since subjects who participate in resource depletion show a different behavior as compared to subjects who are only called to restore it. Specifically, while the former are subject to behavioral lock-ins that influence the success of restoration, the latter are more prompt to restore the more the resource is depleted. |
| Keywords: | Ecological Restoration, Common-pool resource game, Public good game |
| JEL: | C72 C99 Q48 |
| Date: | 2024–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pie:dsedps:2024/307&r= |
| By: | Johannes Boehm; Etienne Fize; Xavier Jaravel |
| Abstract: | We present experimental evidence on the marginal propensity to consume (MPC) out of transitory transfers, distributing prepaid debit cards with different features. The one-month MPC is substantially higher with a card expiring after three weeks (61%), compared to a transfer without expiration (23%). The finding that households consume more when presented with an urgent spending need lends support to theories where the salience of treatments affects choices. We also estimate that the consumption response is concentrated in the first weeks after the transfer and that a large fraction of households has high MPCs, even those with high liquid wealth. |
| Keywords: | marginal propensity to consume, randomized controlled trial, helicopter money |
| Date: | 2024–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1998&r= |
| By: | Jiawei Fu; Xiaojun Li |
| Abstract: | Can the causal effects estimated in experiment be generalized to real-world scenarios? This question lies at the heart of social science studies. External validity primarily assesses whether experimental effects persist across different settings, implicitly presuming the experiment's ecological validity-that is, the consistency of experimental effects with their real-life counterparts. However, we argue that this presumed consistency may not always hold, especially in experiments involving multidimensional decision processes, such as conjoint experiments. We introduce a formal model to elucidate how attention and salience effects lead to three types of inconsistencies between experimental findings and real-world phenomena: amplified effect magnitude, effect sign reversal, and effect importance reversal. We derive testable hypotheses from each theoretical outcome and test these hypotheses using data from various existing conjoint experiments and our own experiments. Drawing on our theoretical framework, we propose several recommendations for experimental design aimed at enhancing the generalizability of survey experiment findings. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.06779&r= |
| By: | Angerer, Silvia; Brosch, Hanna (Technical University of Munich); Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela (University of Innsbruck); Lergetporer, Philipp (Technical University of Munich); Rittmannsberger, Thomas (Technical University of Munich) |
| Abstract: | We present representative evidence of discrimination against migrants through an incentivized choice experiment with over 2, 000 participants. Decision makers allocate a fixed endowment between two receivers. To measure discrimination, we randomly vary receivers' migration background and other attributes, including education, gender, and age. We find that discrimination against migrants by the general population is both widespread and substantial. Our causal moderation analysis shows that migrants with higher education and female migrants experience significantly less discrimination. Discrimination is more pronounced among decision makers who are male, non-migrants, have right-wing political preferences, and live in regions with lower migrant shares. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, representative sample, migration, experiment |
| JEL: | C91 C93 J15 D90 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16984&r= |
| By: | Petra Nieken; Sven Walther |
| Abstract: | Remote work arrangements and increased virtual communication are commonplace. Particularly in organizations, virtual communication has become an essential tool for collaboration and exchanging information. Virtual communication channels, such as text or video messages, provide different levels of human presence compared to face-to-face communication. Given that human presence is known to impact moral behavior, this raises the question if different communication channels are used when being dishonest. To investigate this question, we conducted a controlled experiment using a sender-receiver deception game where the senders could choose between a text or a video message. In the baseline condition, the senders had to be honest and were not allowed to lie. In the treatment condition, the senders had the option of sending an honest or a dishonest message to the receivers. Even though we observe no differences in channel choice if we compare the two treatments, our results, however, show that in the treatment condition, the senders chose the text communication channel significantly more often when being dishonest compared to being honest. We discuss different potential mechanisms, such as differences in perceived human presence between text and video communication, for our findings. Our findings have important implications for various contexts and for strategies to prevent dishonest behavior. |
| Keywords: | digitization, virtual communication, communication channel, honesty, human presence |
| JEL: | C91 D83 M50 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11094&r= |
| By: | Nathaniel T. Wilcox |
| Abstract: | Experimental and behavioral economists, as well as psychologists, commonly assume conditional independence of choices when constructing likelihood functions for structural estimation of choice functions. I test this assumption using data from a new experiment designed for this purpose. Within the limits of the experiment’s identifying restriction and designed power to detect deviations from conditional independence, conditional independence is not rejected. In naturally occurring data, concerns about violations of conditional independence are certainly proper and well-taken (for wellknown reasons). However, when an experimenter employs the particular experimental mechanisms and designs used here, the findings suggest that conditional independence is an acceptable assumption for analyzing data so generated. Key Words: Alternation, Conditional Independence, Choice Under Risk, Discrete Choice, Persistence, Random Problem Selection |
| JEL: | C22 C25 C91 D81 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:24-15&r= |
| By: | Alger, Ingela; Rivero-Wildemauwe, José Ignacio |
| Abstract: | We conduct a laboratory experiment using framing to assess the willing-ness to “sell a lemon”, i.e., to undertake an action that benefits self but hurts the other (the “buyer”). We seek to disentangle the role of other-regarding preferences and (Kan-tian) moral concerns, and to test if it matters whether the decision is described in neutral terms or as a market situation. When evaluating an action, morally motivated individuals consider what their own payo would be if—hypothetically—the roles were reversed and the other subject chose the same action (universalization). We vary the salience of role uncertainty, thus varying the ease for participants to envisage the role-reversal scenario. We find that subjects are (1) more likely to “sell a lemon” in the market frame, and (2) less likely to do so when the role uncertainty is salient. We also structurally estimate other-regarding and Kantian moral concern parameters. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:iastwp:129329&r= |
| By: | Gergely Hajdu (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business); Nikola Frollová (Department of Management, Prague University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | Choosing between payment based on one’s own performance or others’ is inherent in most delegation decisions. We propose and test that such self-reliance dilemma could result in motivated reasoning about own and others’ performances. Participants in an experiment face this dilemma and learn about it either before or after reporting their beliefs. We find that learning about the dilemma decreases participants’ beliefs about their counterpart’s performance advantage (CPA) by an average of 17%. Furthermore, it causes an average overestimation of one’s own performance and increases the fraction of participants who falsely believe they outperformed their counterpart. Organizations should, therefore, carefully manage delegation decisions and implement measures to curb overconfidence. |
| Keywords: | overconfidence, self-reliance, motivated reasoning |
| JEL: | D90 C91 D83 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwwuw:wuwp363&r= |
| By: | Drichoutis, Andreas C.; Cerjak, Marija; Kovačić, Damir; Juračak, Josip |
| Abstract: | This study examines consumer preferences for organic and local apples by combining between- and within-subject design characteristics in a second price auction. We first ask subjects to bid for 1 Kg of apples without any information. In subsequent rounds we reveal information about the organic or local attributes of apples and then allow subjects to taste the apples. Results show a significant price premium for the organic attribute (but not for the local attribute) once information is provided while tasting does not further increase elicited willingness-to-pay. We also find that the mixed-subject design results in more accurate willingness-to-pay estimates than when we use information from the between-subjects or within-subjects treatments alone. These results highlight the interplay between different quality attributes in consumer decision making and emphasize the gains that can be achieved by combining between- and within-subjects characteristics in experimental auctions. |
| Keywords: | experimental auctions, second (2nd) price auction, SPA, between-subjects random incentive scheme, BRIS |
| JEL: | C80 C91 D44 |
| Date: | 2024–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120880&r= |
| By: | Aidan Coville; Joshua S. Graff Zivin; Arndt Reichert; Ann-Kristin Reitmann |
| Abstract: | Solar technologies have been associated with private and social returns, but their technological potential often remains unachieved because of persistently low demand for high-quality products. In a randomized field experiment in Senegal, we assess the potential of three types of quality signaling to increase demand for high-quality solar lamps. We find no effect on demand when consumers are offered a money-back guarantee but increased demand with a third-party certification or warranty, consistent with the notion that consumers are uncertain about product durability rather than their utility. However, despite the higher willingness to pay, the prices they would pay are still well below market prices for the average household, suggesting that reducing information asymmetries alone is insufficient to encourage wider adoption. Surprisingly, we also find that the effective quality signals in our setting stimulate demand for low-quality products by creating product-class effects among those least familiar with the product. |
| JEL: | D12 D83 L15 O13 Q41 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32397&r= |
| By: | Abdulla, Kanat; Mourelatos, Evangelos |
| Abstract: | In this study, we investigate the employers' attitude towards Russian migrants in Kazakhstan's labor market. We conduct a field experiment by sending over 1600 fictitious job applications to real job openings posted on one of the largest job search portals in the country. The job applicants included a local Kazakh, a local Russian, a migrant from Kyrgyzstan, and a migrant from Russia. We found significant differences in employment outcomes across ethnic groups in the selected occupations. Specifically, Russian migrants were significantly less likely to receive an interview invitation. Interestingly, sympathy towards Russian applicants was weakest for occupations located more than 830 km from the Russian borders and those requiring high-skilled workers. Our findings provide evidence for less favorable attitudes towards migrant workers from Russia during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, labour market, migrant workers, field experiment |
| JEL: | C93 J71 J78 J64 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1438&r= |
| By: | Agranov, M.; Elliott, M.; Ortoleva, P. |
| Abstract: | Are individuals willing to change their minds when experts or their peers disagree with them? In an incentivized experiment on a representative sample, we collect binary predictions on unemployment and inflation. Then, we ask whether participants would like to change their predictions if the (vast) majority of experts (or peers) made the other choice. Very few participants are willing to change their predictions indicating a profound lack of trust in experts and the collective wisdom of peers. Nevertheless, there is variation by demographics. Further, scepticism in experts in this domain helps explain participants intention to vaccinate, providing some external validity. |
| Keywords: | Trust, Experts, Social learning, Information policies |
| JEL: | D80 D83 C90 |
| Date: | 2024–05–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2423&r= |
| By: | Amandine Belard; Stefano Farolfi (Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, UMR G-EAU - Gestion de l'Eau, Acteurs, Usages - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - AgroParisTech - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Damien Jourdain; Marc Willinger; Mark Manyanga; And Tarisai Pedzisa |
| Date: | 2023–05–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04562837&r= |
| By: | Mira Fischer (WZB Berlin); Philipp Lergetporer (TU Munich); Katharina Werner (ifo Institute) |
| Abstract: | Behavioral policy, such as leveraging defaults, is increasingly employed by governments worldwide, but has sometimes faced public backlash, which limits political feasibility. We conducted a survey experiment with a large, representative sample to explore how the narrative describing the psychological mechanism by which a default rule impacts a socially significant outcome affects public approval. Respondents are presented with a vignette in which an unemployed person follows a default to participate in further training. We experimentally vary the narrative about his reasons for doing so. Compared to the baseline condition in which no information on the psychological mechanism is provided, voluntary ignorance, involuntary ignorance, perceived social expectations and perceived social pressure each reduce policy approval. These factors also lead to more negative perceptions of the default rule's impact on the decision maker’s welfare and autonomy. The benign mechanism of deliberate endorsement, however, does not significantly raise approval or perceptions. We show that these findings hold irrespective of assumed preferences and discuss their practical implications. |
| Keywords: | behavioral policy; public support; psychological mechanisms; default rule; |
| JEL: | D91 D83 I31 J68 |
| Date: | 2024–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rco:dpaper:505&r= |
| By: | Anonymous; Emmanuel Orkoh; Anirudh Tagat |
| Abstract: | This summarizes the evaluations of the paper: "The Benefits and Costs of Guest Worker Programs: Experimental Evidence from the India-UAE Migration Corridor". These evaluations can be found below. Evaluation Summary and Metrics: 'The Benefits and Costs of Guest Worker Programs: Experimental Evidence from the India-UAE Migration Corridor' for The Unjournal. Evaluators: Anonymous for sharing with authors |
| Date: | 2024–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bjn:evalua:guest&r= |
| By: | Kaiser, Tim (University of Kaiserslautern); Lusardi, Annamaria (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | This article provides a concise narrative overview of the rapidly growing empirical literature on financial literacy and financial education. We first discuss stylized facts on the demographic correlates of financial literacy. We next cover the evidence on the effects of financial literacy on financial behaviors and outcomes. Finally, we review the evidence on the causal effects of financial education programs focusing on randomized controlled trial evaluations. The article concludes with perspectives on future research priorities for both financial literacy and financial education. |
| Keywords: | financial education, financial literacy, financial behavior |
| JEL: | G53 D14 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16926&r= |
| By: | Wauters, Joris (National Bank of Belgium); Zekaite, Zivile (Central Bank of Ireland); Garabedian, Garo (Central Bank of Ireland) |
| Abstract: | The ECB concluded its strategy review in 2021 with a plan to include owner-occupied housing (OOH) costs in its inflation measure in the future. This paper uses the Bundesbank’s online household panel to study how household expectations would react to this change. We conducted a survey experiment with different information treatments and compared long-run expectations for euro area overall inflation, interest rates, and OOH inflation. Long-run expectations are typically higher for OOH inflation than overall inflation, and both are unanchored from the ECB’s target at the time of the survey. We find significantly higher inflation expectations under the treatment where OOH costs are assumed to be fully included in the inflation measure. This information effect is heterogeneous as, among others, homeowners and respondents with low trust in the ECB react more strongly. However, inflation expectations remain stable when information about past OOH inflation is also given. Careful communication design could thus prevent expectations from becoming more de-anchored. |
| Keywords: | Owner-occupied housing costs, survey experiment, inflation measurement, inflation expectations, ECB. |
| JEL: | D83 D84 E31 E50 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbi:wpaper:3/rt/24&r= |
| By: | Susan Athey; Emil Palikot |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the labor market value of credentials obtained from Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and shared on business networking platforms. We conducted a randomized experiment involving more than 800, 000 learners, primarily from developing countries and without college degrees, who completed technology or business-related courses on the Coursera platform between September 2022 and March 2023. The intervention targeted learners who had recently completed their courses, encouraging them to share their credentials and simplifying the sharing process. One year after the intervention, we collected data from LinkedIn profiles of approximately 40, 000 experimental subjects. We find that the intervention leads to an increase of 17 percentage points for credential sharing. Further, learners in the treatment group were 6\% more likely to report new employment within a year, with an 8\% increase in jobs related to their certificates. This effect was more pronounced among LinkedIn users with lower baseline employability. Across the entire sample, the treated group received a higher number of certificate views, indicating an increased interest in their profiles. These results suggest that facilitating credential sharing and reminding learners of the value of skill signaling can yield significant gains. When the experiment is viewed as an encouragement design for credential sharing, we can estimate the local average treatment effect (LATE) of credential sharing (that is, the impact of credential sharing on the workers induced to share by the intervention) for the outcome of getting a job. The LATE estimates are imprecise but large in magnitude; they suggest that credential sharing more than doubles the baseline probability of getting a new job in scope for the credential. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.00247&r= |
| By: | John List |
| Abstract: | Once believed to be an impossibility, field experiments in economics now occupy a central place in the empiricist's quiver. In the past few decades alone field experiments have taken on much greater import in academe, across organizations, as well as for policymakers. But is this emergence simply a fad that will soon return field experiments to obscurity? I argue in this article that there is something fundamental about the emergence of field experiments, as controlling the assignment mechanism in the field provides unparalleled power to both understand the "effects of causes" and the "causes of effects." This knowledge generation then begins to uncover the generalizability and scalability of knowledge. Quite the opposite of a withering tool that will be gone tomorrow, I urge economists to "double down" on this comparative advantage and in doing so I provide four methodological paths which I hope will cement the promise and growth of field experiments in the social sciences. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:natura:00788&r= |
| By: | Unjournal Admin (NA); Anonymous |
| Abstract: | This is an evaluation of "The Benefits and Costs of Guest Worker Programs: Experimental Evidence from the India-UAE Migration Corridor". The evaluator summarizes this as follows: The key contributions of this paper are its analysis of intermediary costs of migration, migrant well-being and diversity in the workplace, expectations of job-seekers and joint comparisons of various pecuniary and non-pecuniary measures of migration. A major limitation is the lack of a welfare justification for randomisation and little to no discussion on equipoise. My suggestions largely revolve around improvements to the discussion of methodology, representativeness, attrition and representation of treatment effects. |
| Date: | 2024–04–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bjn:evalua:guest-e2&r= |
| By: | Harris, Donna (University of Oxford); Borcan, Oana (University of East Anglia); Serra, Danila (Texas A&M University); Telli, Henry (International Growth Centre (IGC)); Schettini, Bruno (Federal Revenue of Brazil); Dercon, Stefan (University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of ethics and integrity training on police officers in Ghana through a randomized field experiment. The program, informed by theoretical work on the role of identity and motivation in organizations, aimed to re-activate intrinsic motivations to serve the public, and to create a new shared identity of "Agent of Change." Data generated by an endline survey conducted 20 months post training, show that the program positively affected officers' values and beliefs regarding on-the-job unethical behavior and improved their attitudes toward citizens. The training also lowered officers' propensity to behave unethically, as measured by an incentivized cheating game conducted at endline. District-level administrative data for a subsample of districts are consistent with a significant impact of the program on officers' field behavior in the short-run. |
| Keywords: | ethics training, traffic police, experiment |
| JEL: | H76 K42 M53 D73 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17006&r= |
| By: | Daniel Zizumbo (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Ecocómicas-Aguascalientes, CIDE); Adriana Aguilar (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Ecocómicas-Aguascalientes, CIDE); Jaime Sainz (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Ecocómicas-Aguascalientes, CIDE); Alfonso Miranda (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Ecocómicas-Aguascalientes, CIDE) |
| Abstract: | In this presentation, we use experimental vignettes to study how a worker's personal demographic characteristics affect wage setting and employment decisions among the personnel of a random sample of Mexico City's service sector firms. We explore the effect of sex, skin tone and hair color, face symmetry—as a proxy for beauty or attractiveness—and country of origin. Net of a explicit productivity measure, we find a discriminatory employment penalty of 11% from Central and South American workers as well as a penalty for workers with asymmetric faces of 9% that is present only when operatives take firing decisions— when managers take firing decisions, no “beauty effect” is present. For wages, we find only weak evidence that migrants from Central and South America are offered lower wages than native workers in the Mexican labor market. Finally, we find strong evidence of a sex wage penalty: women are offered wages that are about 6.6% lower than those offered to men. |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boc:mexi23:22&r= |
| By: | Islam, Asad (Monash University); Mozumder, Tanvir Ahmed (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development); Rahman, Tabassum (University of Melbourne); Shatil, Tanvir (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development); Siddique, Abu (Royal Holloway, University of London) |
| Abstract: | Forced displacement is a major driver of mental health disorders among refugees globally. The mental well-being of adult refugees, particularly mothers, is widely recognized as a crucial determinant of their children's psychological health and development. In this study, we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effectiveness of a multifaceted psychosocial program in improving the mental health of refugee mothers, and fostering growth and development among children under the age of two. Collaborating with BRAC, we conducted a cluster RCT involving 3, 500 Rohingya mother-child pairs in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Participants received weekly psychosocial support for 44 weeks, facilitated by trained peer volunteers. The program included psychoeducation and parenting guidance for mothers, as well as interactive play activities for both mothers and children. The intervention proved largely successful, resulting in: (i) reductions in the psychological trauma and depression severity among both mothers and children, (ii) improvements in children's communication, gross-motor, and problem-solving skills, and (iii) reductions in the prevalence of stunting and severe stunting among children. At a cost of approximately $1 per dyad per session, the intervention has demonstrated cost-effectiveness and is currently being scaled-up in Bangladesh's refugee camps, benefiting around forty thousand mother-child dyads. |
| Keywords: | mental health, forced displacement, early childhood development, refugees |
| JEL: | I15 J15 O12 O15 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16961&r= |
| By: | Oleg Korenok (Department of Economics, VCU School of Business); Ioannis Kospentaris (Department of Economics, Athens University of Economics and Business); John Lightle (Department of Economics, VCU School of Business) |
| Abstract: | Most financial trade occurs in decentralized over the counter (OTC) markets which are plagued by frictions. The pioneering theoretical work of Duffie, Garleanu, and Pedersen (2005) uses search theory to model these frictions and study price formation in OTC asset markets. In this paper, we conduct the first experimental evaluation of the main prediction of their model. As predicted, we find that when the asset is plentiful, prices are lower when traders have more meeting opportunities, while when the asset is in short supply, prices are higher when traders have more meeting opportunities. We also find that, contrary to the theory, meetings between traders often do not result in successful transactions and that these trade failures create additional frictions affecting asset prices. |
| Keywords: | Search frictions, over-the-counter market, experimental asset market |
| JEL: | G12 D83 C78 |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vcu:wpaper:2401&r= |
| By: | Adam, Martin; Wessel, Michael; Benlian, Alexander |
| Abstract: | Communicating with customers through live chat interfaces has become an increasingly popular means to provide real-time customer service in many e-commerce settings. Today, human chat service agents are frequently replaced by conversational software agents or chatbots, which are systems designed to communicate with human users by means of natural language often based on artificial intelligence (AI). Though cost- and time-saving opportunities triggered a widespread implementation of AI-based chatbots, they still frequently fail to meet customer expectations, potentially resulting in users being less inclined to comply with requests made by the chatbot. Drawing on social response and commitment-consistency theory, we empirically examine through a randomized online experiment how verbal anthropomorphic design cues and the foot-in-the-door technique affect user request compliance. Our results demonstrate that both anthropomorphism as well as the need to stay consistent significantly increase the likelihood that users comply with a chatbot’s request for service feedback. Moreover, the results show that social presence mediates the effect of anthropomorphic design cues on user compliance. |
| Date: | 2024–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:144613&r= |
| By: | Crick Lund; Kate Orkin; Marc Witte; John H. Walker; Thandi Davies; Johannes Haushofer; Sarah Murray; Judy Bass; Laura Murray; Wietse Tol; Vikram H. Patel |
| Abstract: | Mental health conditions are prevalent but rarely treated in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Little is known about how these conditions affect economic participation. This paper shows that treating mental health conditions substantially improves recipients’ capacity to work in these contexts. First, we perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) ever conducted that evaluate treatments for mental ill-health and measure economic outcomes in LMICs. On average, treating common mental disorders like depression with psychotherapy improves an aggregate of labor market outcomes made up of employment, time spent working, capacity to work and job search by 0.16 standard deviations. Treating severe mental disorders, like schizophrenia, improves the aggregate by 0.30 standard deviations, but effects are noisily estimated. Second, we build a new dataset, pooling all available microdata from RCTs using the most common trial design: studies of psychotherapy in LMICs that treated depression and measured days participants were unable to work in the past month. We observe comparable treatment effects on mental health and work outcomes in this sub-sample of highly similar studies. We also show evidence consistent with mental health being the mechanism through which psychotherapy improves work outcomes. |
| JEL: | D9 I14 J24 O1 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32423&r= |
| By: | Anonymous |
| Abstract: | This is a very strong and interesting paper. More consideration of the welfare impacts of nudges is to be welcomed, and there is clearly a gap in the market for considering heterogeneous effects. However, there are concerns about whether or not the experimental method is really designed to answer questions of this type. |
| Date: | 2024–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bjn:evalua:welfarenudges-e2&r= |
| By: | Campbell, Douglas; Brodeur, Abel; Dreber, Anna; Johannesson, Magnus; Kopecky, Joseph; Lusher, Lester; Tsoy, Nikita |
| Abstract: | We estimate the robustness reproducibility of key results from 17 non-experimental AER papers published in 2013 (8 papers) and 2022/23 (9 papers). We find that many of the results are not robust, with no improvement over time. The fraction of significant robustness tests (p﹤0.05) varies between 17% and 88% across the papers with a mean of 46%. The mean relative t/z-value of the robustness tests varies between 35% and 87% with a mean of 63%, suggesting selective reporting of analytical specifications that exaggerate statistical significance. A sample of economists (n=359) overestimates robustness reproducibility, but predictions are correlated with observed reproducibility. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:124&r= |
| By: | Miriam Gensowski (Rockwool Foundation); Rasmus Landersø (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit); Philip Dale (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque); Anders Højen (Aarhus University); Laura Justice (Ohio State University); Dorthe Bleses (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the interaction between parental and public inputs in children’s skill formation. We perform a longer-run follow-up study of a randomized controlled trial that increased preschool quality and initially improved skills significantly for children of all backgrounds. There is, however, complete fade-out for children with highly educated parents. Given positive long-run effects for children with low-educated parents, the treatment reduces child skill gaps across parents’ education by 46%. We show that the heterogeneous treatment effects are a result of differences in parents’ responses in terms of investments, reacting to school quality later in childhood. There is also evidence of cross-productivity between reading and math skills and socio-emotional development. |
| Keywords: | public investment, school quality |
| JEL: | I24 I28 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2024-011&r= |
| By: | Felix Haag; Carlo Stingl; Katrin Zerfass; Konstantin Hopf; Thorsten Staake |
| Abstract: | Information systems (IS) are frequently designed to leverage the negative effect of anchoring bias to influence individuals' decision-making (e.g., by manipulating purchase decisions). Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the explanations of its decisions through explainable AI (XAI) have opened new opportunities for mitigating biased decisions. So far, the potential of these technological advances to overcome anchoring bias remains widely unclear. To this end, we conducted two online experiments with a total of N=390 participants in the context of purchase decisions to examine the impact of AI and XAI-based decision support on anchoring bias. Our results show that AI alone and its combination with XAI help to mitigate the negative effect of anchoring bias. Ultimately, our findings have implications for the design of AI and XAI-based decision support and IS to overcome cognitive biases. |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.04972&r= |
| By: | Johannes Hoelzemann; Gustavo Manso; Abhishek Nagaraj; Matteo Tranchero |
| Abstract: | We examine innovative contexts like scientific research or technical R&D where agents must search across many potential projects of varying and uncertain returns. Is it better to possess incomplete but accurate data on the value of some projects, or might there be cases where it is better to explore on a blank slate? While more data usually improves welfare, we present a theoretical framework to understand how it can unexpectedly decrease it. In our model of the streetlight effect, we predict that when data shines a light on attractive but not optimal projects, it can severely narrow the breadth of exploration and lower individual and group payoffs. We test our predictions in an online lab experiment and show that the availability of data on the true value of one project can lower individual payoffs by 17% and reduce the likelihood of discovering the optimal outcome by 54% compared to cases where no data is provided. Suggestive empirical evidence from genetics research illustrates our framework in a real-world setting: data on moderately promising genetic targets delays valuable discoveries by 1.6 years on average. Our paper provides the first systematic examination of the streetlight effect, outlining the conditions under which data leads agents to look under the lamppost rather than engage in socially beneficial exploration. |
| JEL: | C73 C92 D81 D83 O31 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32401&r= |
| By: | Gensowski, Miriam (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit); Landerso, Rasmus (Rockwool Foundation Research Unit); Dale, Philip (University of New Mexico); Hojen, Anders (Aarhus University); Justice, Laura (Ohio State University); Bleses, Dorthe (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the interaction between parental and public inputs in children's skill formation. We perform a longer-run follow-up study of a randomized controlled trial that increased preschool quality and initially improved skills significantly for children of all backgrounds. There is, however, complete fade-out for children with highly educated parents. Given positive long-run effects for children with low-educated parents, the treatment reduces child skill gaps across parents' education by 46%. We show that the heterogeneous treatment effects are a result of differences in parents' responses in terms of investments, reacting to school quality later in childhood. There is also evidence of cross-productivity between reading and math skills and socio-emotional development. |
| Keywords: | skill formation, parental time investments, public investments, school quality |
| JEL: | I24 I28 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16956&r= |
| By: | Joshua B. Gilbert; Zachary Himmelsbach; James Soland; Mridul Joshi; Benjamin W. Domingue |
| Abstract: | Analyses of heterogeneous treatment effects (HTE) are common in applied causal inference research. However, when outcomes are latent variables assessed via psychometric instruments such as educational tests, standard methods ignore the potential HTE that may exist among the individual items of the outcome measure. Failing to account for "item-level" HTE (IL-HTE) can lead to both estimated standard errors that are too small and identification challenges in the estimation of treatment-by-covariate interaction effects. We demonstrate how Item Response Theory (IRT) models that estimate a treatment effect for each assessment item can both address these challenges and provide new insights into HTE generally. This study articulates the theoretical rationale for the IL-HTE model and demonstrates its practical value using data from 20 randomized controlled trials in economics, education, and health. Our results show that the IL-HTE model reveals item-level variation masked by average treatment effects, provides more accurate statistical inference, allows for estimates of the generalizability of causal effects, resolves identification problems in the estimation of interaction effects, and provides estimates of standardized treatment effect sizes corrected for attenuation due to measurement error. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2405.00161&r= |