CAREER: Field Experiments in Credit, Insurance, and Behavioral Economics

职业：信用、保险和行为经济学的现场实验

• 批准号: 0547898
• 负责人: Dean Karlan
• 金额: $ 40万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-01 至 2012-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0547898&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Field; Experiments; Credit; Insurance

The purpose of this study is to design and implement unique experimental methodologies that test theoretical issues in financial markets for the poor in developing countries, behavioral economics and psychology, and non-profit fundraising in the United States. The field experiments are designed to reveal fundamental elements of individual and entrepreneurial decision-making and market microstructure. This study comprises three projects, each motivated by both theoretical and policy issues: a group versus individual liability experiment in the Philippines; an information asymmetry experiment on health insurance in the Philippines; and experiments on psychology and economics using non-profit fundraising in the United States. There is also an educational component of this study. A new doctoral course is developed at Yale University, sponsored by the Institute for Social and Policy Studies (an inter-disciplinary unit), on field experiments in social sciences, as well as field support to encourage graduate students to incorporate experimental methodologies into their dissertation work.Several field experiments are designed specifically to shed insight into both theoretical and policy questions in development economics and behavioral economics. Regarding development economics, there are many existing theories on financial markets (both credit and insurance) for the poor in developing countries. Yet, relative to the theory, there is little clean empirical evidence. Particularly for the poor, little is known about how critical product design issues, such as premium rates, liability rules and access to savings, affect individual behavior. Therefore, field experiments will be designed to answer several specific questions, including: (1) Is adverse selection present, and if so how extensive is it, in health insurance markets in the Philippines? (2) Is demand elastic with respect to premiums for micro-insurance? (3) Do dynamic incentives help to mitigate moral hazard in insurance markets? (4) Does group liability help enforce and monitor lending contracts for the poor, compared to individual liability? Another set of experiments focuses on behavioral economics, specifically examining the importance of finding from psychology and behavioral economics under competitive pressures in the real world: (5) Do psychological manipulations effective in the laboratory matter under competitive pressures in the real world? Aside from the intellectual merit of the research questions being answered, the projects will help develop standards and practices for researchers and practitioners to use field experiment methodologies to test important issues in development and behavioral economics. This study also includes an important combination of behavioral and development economics. The research examines how insights from psychology can help clarify our understanding of how poor individuals in developing countries make credit and savings decisions. Such information is critical for the development of effective, welfare-improving public policies for credit and savings markets.Broader Impacts: Field experiments to date have focused largely on program evaluation work. On a methodological level, this study puts forth a series of experiments that can be thought of as second generation experimental economics: employ the techniques and theoretical underpinning typically found in laboratory experiments to motivate and design natural field experiments. This attention to theory in the design of field experiments is new and growing, and can apply to fields throughout economics (and other social sciences). On a practical level, the specific issues examined are important for understanding financial markets for the poor and behavioral economics. The specific knowledge sought here should have implications for development policymakers, as well as academic theoreticians and empiricists looking for validation of competing models of financial markets and human behavior.

这项研究的目的是设计和实施独特的实验方法，测试发展中国家针对穷人的金融市场、行为经济学和心理学以及美国非营利性筹款的理论问题。实地实验旨在揭示个人和创业决策以及市场微观结构的基本要素。这项研究包括三个项目，每个项目都受到理论和政策问题的推动：菲律宾的团体对个人责任实验；菲律宾的医疗保险信息不对称实验；以及美国利用非营利性筹款进行的心理学和经济学实验。这项研究还有一个教育方面的内容。耶鲁大学开发了一门新的博士课程，由社会与政策研究所(一个跨学科单位)赞助，内容是社会科学的实地实验，以及实地支持，以鼓励研究生将实验方法纳入他们的论文工作。几项实地实验是专门为洞察发展经济学和行为经济学的理论和政策问题而设计的。关于发展经济学，有许多关于发展中国家穷人的金融市场(信贷和保险)的现有理论。然而，相对于这一理论，几乎没有干净的经验证据。尤其是对穷人来说，人们对保险费率、责任规则和储蓄渠道等关键产品设计问题如何影响个人行为知之甚少。因此，实地实验将被设计来回答几个具体的问题，包括：(1)菲律宾健康保险市场是否存在逆向选择，如果是的话，这种选择的广度有多大？(2)小额保险保费方面的需求是否具有弹性？(3)动态激励是否有助于减轻保险市场的道德风险？(4)与个人责任相比，集团责任是否有助于执行和监督穷人的贷款合同？另一组实验聚焦于行为经济学，具体考察了在现实世界的竞争压力下，从心理学和行为经济学中发现的重要性：(5)在真实世界的竞争压力下，实验室中的心理操纵有效吗？除了被回答的研究问题的智力价值外，这些项目还将有助于为研究人员和实践者制定标准和实践，以使用实地实验方法来测试发展和行为经济学中的重要问题。这项研究还包括行为经济学和发展经济学的重要结合。这项研究考察了心理学的洞察力如何有助于澄清我们对发展中国家穷人如何做出信贷和储蓄决定的理解。这些信息对于为信贷和储蓄市场制定有效的、改善福利的公共政策至关重要。广泛影响：到目前为止，实地试验主要集中在项目评估工作上。在方法论层面上，这项研究提出了一系列可被视为第二代实验经济学的实验：利用实验室实验中常见的技术和理论基础来激励和设计自然田野实验。这种在实地实验设计中对理论的关注是新的，而且正在增长，可以应用于整个经济学(和其他社会科学)的领域。在实践层面上，所研究的具体问题对于理解面向穷人的金融市场和行为经济学很重要。这里寻求的具体知识应该对发展政策制定者以及寻求验证金融市场和人类行为相互竞争的模型的学术理论家和经验主义者有影响。