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Can we do policy recommendations from a framed field experiment? The case of coca cultivation in Colombia

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  • Ibanez, Marcela

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Martinsson, Peter

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

Laboratory experiments are potentially effective tools for studying behavior in settings where little or no information would otherwise exist such as participation in illicit activities. However, using laboratory experiments to draw policy recommendations is highly debatable. We investigate the external validity of a framed field experiment that mimics coca cultivation and find evidence that behavior in the experiment is consistent with self-reported behavior. We use the experiment to discuss the effectiveness of carrot and stick policies on coca investments. The experiment indicates that subjects are more responsive to changes in the relative profit of cattle farming than to changes in the probability of coca eradication.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibanez, Marcela & Martinsson, Peter, 2008. "Can we do policy recommendations from a framed field experiment? The case of coca cultivation in Colombia," Working Papers in Economics 306, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0306
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/10170
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    Cited by:

    1. Moser, S. & Mußhoff, O., 2015. "Reward, Punishment and Probabilities in Policy Measurements: An Extra Laboratory Experiment about Effectiveness and Efficiency of Incentives in Palm Oil Production," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 50, March.
    2. Moser, Stefan & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2014. "Reward, punishment and probabilities in policy measurements: An extra laboratory experiment about effectiveness and efficiency of incentives in palm oil production," 54th Annual Conference, Goettingen, Germany, September 17-19, 2014 187432, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    3. Stefan Moser & Oliver Mußhoff, 2016. "Ex-ante Evaluation of Policy Measures: Effects of Reward and Punishment for Fertiliser Reduction in Palm Oil Production," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(1), pages 84-104, February.
    4. Moser, Stefan & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2014. "A framed field experiment about policy measures: Testing the effectiveness of rewards or punishments with different probabilities as incentives in palm oil production," EFForTS Discussion Paper Series 5, University of Goettingen, Collaborative Research Centre 990 "EFForTS, Ecological and Socioeconomic Functions of Tropical Lowland Rainforest Transformation Systems (Sumatra, Indonesia)".

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Coca cultivation; Colombia; Experiment; Public Bad;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D62 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Externalities
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

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