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Expériences de laboratoire en économie et incitations monétaires

Author

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  • Nathalie Etchart-Vincent

    (CIRED - centre international de recherche sur l'environnement et le développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

A strong positive relation is generally assumed between monetary incentives and effort on the one hand, and between effort and performance on the other hand, which legitimates the introduction of monetary incentives in economic laboratory experiments. Still, the empirical impact of incentives on effort and/or performance appears to be rather mixed or even negative. We examine the ins and outs of the debate since they all are, in a more or less radical manner, an invitation to a more pragmatic attitude towards incentives. We first show that embarrassing empirical results cannot be ascribed to an alleged inappropriateness of the incentive procedure (as regards the level of incentives or the procedure itself). We then examine the robustness of the relation between incentives, effort, and performance and elaborate upon the reasons why incentives sometimes do not enhance (or even damage) effort and/or why effort sometimes does not induce better performance (whether it be ineffective or harmful upon it). Next, we discuss the peculiar case of experimentation in the loss domain, which raises the more fundamental question of whether monetary incentives can be introduced. We finally conclude on the need of a pragmatic use of monetary incentives, depending on the very features of the experimental design (including subjects' cognitive and psychological characteristics).

Suggested Citation

  • Nathalie Etchart-Vincent, 2005. "Expériences de laboratoire en économie et incitations monétaires," CIRED Working Papers halshs-00004121, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:ciredw:halshs-00004121
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00004121
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    Cited by:

    1. Etchart-Vincent, Nathalie, 2007. "Expérimentation de laboratoire et économie : contre quelques idées reçues et faux problèmes," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 83(1), pages 91-116, mars.
    2. Bocquého, Géraldine & Deschamps, Marc & Helstroffer, Jenny & Jacob, Julien & Joxhe, Majlinda, 2023. "Modelling refugee migration under cognitive biases: Experimental evidence and policy," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    3. Salah Ould Younes, 2014. "La motivation intrinsèque des salariés des organismes agréés des services à la personne," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 14055, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    4. Salah Ould Younes, 2014. "La motivation intrinsèque des salariés des organismes agréés des services à la personne," Post-Print halshs-01025110, HAL.
    5. Salah Ould Younes, 2014. "La motivation intrinsèque des salariés des organismes agréés des services à la personne," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-01025110, HAL.

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