Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics
No 473: The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth - A Multiple Country Test of an Oath Script
Fredrik Carlsson (), Mitesh Kataria (), Alan Krupnick (), Elina Lampi (), Åsa Löfgren (), Ping Qin (), Thomas Sterner () and Susie Chung ()
Additional contact information
Fredrik Carlsson: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Mitesh Kataria: Max Planck Institute of Economics, Postal: Kahlaische Straße 10, D-07745 Jena, Germany
Alan Krupnick: Resources for the Future, Postal: 1616 P St., NW, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
Elina Lampi: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Åsa Löfgren: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Ping Qin: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Thomas Sterner: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Susie Chung: Resources for the Future, Postal: 1616 P St., NW, Washington, DC, 20036, USA
Abstract: Hypothetical bias is one of the main issues bedeviling the field of nonmarket valuation. The general criticism is that survey responses reflect how people would like to behave, rather than how they actually behave. In our study of climate change and emissions reductions, we took advantage of the increasing bulk of evidence from psychology and economics that addresses the effects of making promises, in order to investigate the effect of an oath script in a contingent valuation survey. The survey was conducted in Sweden and China, and its results indicate that an oath script has significant effects on respondent behavior in answering willingness-to-pay (WTP) questions, some of which vary by country. In both countries, the share of zero WTP responses and extremely high WTP responses decreases when an oath script is used, which also results in lower variance. In China, the oath script also reduces the average WTP, cutting it by half in certain instances. We also found that the oath script has different impacts on various respondent groups. For example, without the oath script, Communist party members in China are more likely than others to have a positive WTP for emissions reductions, but with the oath script, there is no longer any difference between the groups.
Keywords: Oath script; hypothetical bias; willingness to pay
30 pages, November 12, 2010
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- Published as
- Fredrik Carlsson, Mitesh Kataria, Alan Krupnick, Elina Lampi, Åsa Löfgren, Ping Qin, Thomas Sterner and Susie Chung, (2013), 'The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth - A Multiple Country Test of an Oath Script', Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 89, pages 105-121
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