What do laboratory experiments measuring social preferences reveal about the real world?
What do laboratory experiments measuring social preferences reveal about the real world?
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DOI：
10.1257/jep.21.2.153
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发表时间：
2007-03-01
影响因子：
8.4
通讯作者：
List, John A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Levitt, Steven D.;List, John A.
实验经济学家面临的一个关键问题是，实验室内的行为是否能很好地反映实验室外的行为。为了解决这个问题，我们建立了一个模型，在这个模型中，个人做出的选择不仅取决于财务影响，还取决于他人审查的性质和程度，决策所处的特定背景，以及选择参与者和任务的方式。我们提出的经验证据表明，这些不同的因素的重要性。在某种程度上，实验室和自然发生的环境在这些维度上有系统的不同，在实验室内外获得的结果不需要对应。我们将重点放在旨在衡量社会偏好的实验上，讨论现有的实验室结果在多大程度上可以推广到自然发生的市场。我们总结了实验室可能低估社会偏好重要性的情况，以及实验室可能夸大其重要性的情况。最后，我们强调通过理论的视角解释实验室和现场数据的重要性。
A critical question facing experimental economists is whether behavior inside the laboratory is a good indicator of behavior outside the laboratory. To address that question, we build a model in which the choices that individuals make depend not just on financial implications, but also on the nature and extent of scrutiny by others, the particular context in which a decision is embedded, and the manner in which participants and tasks are selected. We present empirical evidence demonstrating the importance of these various factors. To the extent that lab and naturally occurring environments systematically differ on any of these dimensions, the results obtained inside and outside the lab need not correspond. Focusing on experiments designed to measure social preferences, we discuss the extent to which the existing laboratory results generalize to naturally-occurring markets. We summarize cases where the lab may understate the importance of social preferences as well as instances in which the lab might exaggerate their importance. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of interpreting laboratory and field data through the lens of theory.