The debate on external validity in experimental economy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2019v23n2p309Abstract
We focus on the debate on the external validity of lab results in the area of experimental economics. More specifically, we focus on Colin Camerer’s and John List’s views, who postulate opposite positions on the issue. The problem is that they partially analyze the same empirical evidence and draw from it opposite conclusions. The goal of this work is to analyze such empirical evidence to try to explain the difference in interpretation of results. We argue that the dispute in interpretations can be expressed in terms of difference of criteria used to determine external validity. From our analysis we propose the formulation of different types of external validity.
References
ABBINK, K.; Herrmann, B. 2011. The moral costs of nastiness. Economic Inquiry 49(2): 631-633.
ABBINK, K.; Serra, D. 2012. Anticorruption Policies: Lessons from the Lab. In: D. Serra; L. Wantchekon (Eds.) New advances in experimental research on corruption, pp. 77-115. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
AL-UBAYDLI, O.; LIST, J. 2015. On the generalizability of experimental results in economics. In: G. Frechette; A. Schotter (Eds.) Handbook of Experimental Economic Methodology, pp. 420-462. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
BENZ, M.; MEIER, S. 2008. Do people behave in experiments as in the field?—evidence from donations. Experimental Economics 11(3): 268-281.
CAMERER, C. 2015. The promise and success of lab-field generalizability in experimental economics: A critical reply to Levitt and List. In: G. Frechette; A. Schotter (Eds.) Handbook of Experimental Economic Methodology, pp. 249-295. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
CHERRY, T.; FRYKBLOM, P.; SHOGREN, J. 2002. Hardnose the dictator. The American Economic Review 92(4): 1218-1221.
FRÉCHETTE, G.; SCHOTTER, A. (Eds.) 2015. Handbook of experimental economic methodology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
KESSLER, J.; VESTERLUND, L. 2015. The external validity of laboratory experiments: The misleading emphasis on quantitative effects. In: G. Frechette; A. Schotter (Eds.) Handbook of Experimental Economic Methodology, pp. 391-406. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
LEVITT, S.; LIST, J. 2007. What do laboratory experiments measuring social preferences reveal about the real world? The Journal of Economic Perspectives 21(2): 153-174.
LIST, J. 2006. The behavioralist meets the market: Measuring social preferences and reputation effects in actual transactions. Journal of Political Economy 114(1): 1-37.
PALACIOS‐HUERTA, I.; VOLIJ, O. 2008. Experientia docet: Professionals play minimax in laboratory experiments. Econometrica 76(1): 71-115.
STOOP, J.; NouSsair, C.; VAN SOEST, D. 2012. From the lab to the field: Cooperation among fishermen. Journal of Political Economy 120(6): 1027-1056.
THALER, R. 1985. Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice. Marketing Science 4(3): 199-214.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Principia http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/index is licenced under a Creative Commons - Atribuição-Uso Não-Comercial-Não a obras derivadas 3.0 Unported.
Base available in www.periodicos.ufsc.br.
