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To pay or not to pay: Measuring risk preferences in lab and field

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  • Brañas-Garza, Pablo
  • Estepa Mohedano, Lorenzo
  • Jorrat, Diego
  • Orozco, Víctor
  • Rascon-Ramirez, Ericka

Abstract

Measuring risk preferences in the field is critical for policy, however, it can be expensive and may generate unequal payoffs due to bad luck. For instance, the commonly used measure of Holt and Laury (2002) relies on a dozen of lottery choices and payments which makes it time consuming and costly, but also raises moral concerns as a result of the unequal payments generated by the lotteries. We propose a short version of the Holt and Laury (2002) which produces in the lab (Spain) the same results as the long HL. Using the short HL in the field (Honduras and Nigeria), we observe that paying or not for the measurement of risk preferences produces the same findings. Our low-cost approach makes the measurement of risk preferences simpler, faster and cheaper in the lab and field.

Suggested Citation

  • Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Estepa Mohedano, Lorenzo & Jorrat, Diego & Orozco, Víctor & Rascon-Ramirez, Ericka, 2020. "To pay or not to pay: Measuring risk preferences in lab and field," MPRA Paper 103088, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:103088
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    7. Kai Ruggeri & Amma Panin & Milica Vdovic & Bojana Većkalov & Nazeer Abdul-Salaam & Jascha Achterberg & Carla Akil & Jolly Amatya & Kanchan Amatya & Thomas Lind Andersen & Sibele D. Aquino & Arjoon Aru, 2022. "The globalizability of temporal discounting," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(10), pages 1386-1397, October.
    8. Awondo, Sebastain N. & Powell, Lawrence S., 2024. "Causal effects of information friction on willingness to pay for hurricane-resistant buildings," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    9. Ortiz, Jose M. & Teixeira, Lucas I. & Falcão, Natália N.L. & Soki, Erika A. & Almeida, Raquel M., 2024. "Information simplification and default choices improve financial decisions: A credit card statement experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    10. Novella, Rafael & Ramirez, Ericka G. Rascón, 2024. "Question-order effects on judgements under uncertainty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    11. Reisdorfer-da-Silva, Rômulo César & Becker, Kalinca Léia & Vieira, Kelmara Mendes, 2025. "The impact of board games on the financial literacy of public-school students," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    12. Antonio Alfonso & Pablo Brañas-Garza & Diego Jorrat & Benjamín Prissé & María José Vázquez-De Francisco, 2024. "The Baking of Preferences throughout the High School," Working Papers 316, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    13. Arroyos-Calvera, Danae & Lohse, Johannes & McDonald, Rebecca, 2024. "Beyond social influence: Examining the efficacy of non-social recommendations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    14. Alfonso, Antonio & Brañas-Garza, Pablo & Jorrat, Diego & Lomas, Pablo & Prissé, Benjamin & Vasco, Mónica & Vázquez-De Francisco, María J., 2023. "The adventure of running experiments with teenagers," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    15. Truc Thanh Tran & Nam Khanh Pham, 2024. "Risk Preferences and Entrepreneurial Decision-Making: Evidence from Experimental Methods in Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Estepa-Mohedano, Lorenzo & Espinosa, María Paz, 2023. "Comparing risk elicitation in lotteries with visual or contextual aids," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    17. Christos I. Giannikos & Andreas Kakolyris & Tin Shan Suen, 2025. "Risk attitudes and private disability insurance holdings," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 49(1), pages 23-44, March.
    18. Thomas Meissner & Xavier Gassmann & Corinne Faure & Joachim Schleich, 2023. "Individual characteristics associated with risk and time preferences: A multi country representative survey," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 66(1), pages 77-107, February.
    19. Alfonso-Costillo, Antonio, 2021. "Taking risks by flying paper airplanes," MPRA Paper 108541, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Holden, Stein T. & Tilahun, Mesfin, 2022. "Are risk preferences explaining gender differences in investment behavior?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Risk preferences; Holt Laury; Field Experiments; Monetary Payoffs; Incentives.;
    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
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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