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Ambiguous Solicitation: Ambiguous Prescription

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Abstract

We conduct a two-phase laboratory experiment, separated by several weeks. In the first phase, we conduct urn games intended to measure ambiguity aversion on a representative population of undergraduate students. In the second phase, we invite the students back with four different solicitation treatments, varying in the ambiguity of information regarding the task and the payout of the laboratory experiment. We find that those who return do not differ from the overall pool with respect to their ambiguity version. However, no solicitation treatment generates a representative sample. The ambiguous task treatment drives away the ambiguity averse disproportionally, and the detailed task treatment draws in the ambiguity averse disproportionally.

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File URL: http://web.williams.edu/Economics/wp/gazzaleAmbiguousSelection200903.pdf
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Department of Economics, Williams College in its series Department of Economics Working Papers with number 2009-02.

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Length: 24 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2009
Date of revision:
Publication status: forthcoming in Economic Inquiry.
Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2009-02

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Keywords: laboratory experimental methods; experimental economics; laboratory selection effects;

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Cited by:
  1. David H. Herberich & John A. List, 2012. "Digging into Background Risk: Experiments with Farmers and Students," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 94(2), pages 457-463.

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