Selection and Mode Effects in Risk Preference Elicitation Experiments

29 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2008 Last revised: 26 Apr 2023

See all articles by Hans-Martin von Gaudecker

Hans-Martin von Gaudecker

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area; Netspar; Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA)

Arthur van Soest

Tilburg University; Netspar; RAND Corporation; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Erik Wengström

Department of Economics, Lund University; Hanken School of Economics - Helsinki Graduate School of Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

We combine data from a risk preference elicitation experiment conducted on a representative sample via the Internet with laboratory data on students for the same experiment to investigate effects of implementation mode and of subject pool selection. We find that the frequency of errors in the lab experiment is drastically below that of the representative sample in the Internet experiment, and average risk aversion is also lower. Considering the student-like subsample of the Internet subjects and comparing a traditional lab design with an Internet-like design in the lab gives two ways to decompose these differences into differences due to subject pool selection and differences due to implementation mode. Both lead to the conclusion that the differences are due to selection and not implementation mode. An analysis of the various steps leading to participation or non-participation in the Internet survey leads shows that these processes are selective in selecting subjects who make fewer errors, but do not lead to biased conclusions on risk preferences. These findings point at the usefulness of the Internet survey as an alternative to a student pool in the laboratory if the ambition is to use the experiments to draw inference on a broad population.

Keywords: laboratory experiments, internet surveys, risk aversion

JEL Classification: C90, D81

Suggested Citation

von Gaudecker, Hans-Martin and van Soest, Arthur H. O. and van Soest, Arthur H. O. and Wengström, Erik, Selection and Mode Effects in Risk Preference Elicitation Experiments. IZA Discussion Paper No. 3321, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1294521 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1294521

Hans-Martin Von Gaudecker (Contact Author)

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area ( email )

Adenauerallee 24-42
D-53113 Bonn
Germany

Netspar ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) ( email )

Amalienstrasse 33
Munich, 80799
Germany

Arthur H. O. van Soest

Netspar

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands

Tilburg University ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

RAND Corporation ( email )

P.O. Box 2138
1776 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138
United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Erik Wengström

Department of Economics, Lund University ( email )

P.O. Box 7082
S-220 07 Lund
Sweden

HOME PAGE: http://https://sites.google.com/site/erikwengstrom

Hanken School of Economics - Helsinki Graduate School of Economics ( email )

Helsinki
Finland

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
72
Abstract Views
855
Rank
311,080
PlumX Metrics