Can survey participation alter household saving behavior?

Abstract

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may AbstractMuch empirical research in economics is based on data from household surveys. Panel surveys are particularly valuable for understanding dynamics and heterogeneity. A possible concern with panel surveys is that survey participation itself may alter subsequent behavior. We provide novel evidence of survey effects on household financial behavior in a developed country. We exploit randomized assignment to survey modules within the LISS-panel, an internet panel survey which is representative of the Dutch population. Our saving measure is based on linked administrative wealth data, allowing us to distinguish changes in saving behavior from changes in reporting behavior. We find that households that respond to detailed questions on expenditures and needs in retirement reduced their non-housing saving rate by 3 percentage points. The size of the effect is increasing in the education level of the household. One interpretation is that the survey acted as a salience shock.

Participating in A Panel Survey Changes Respondents’ Labour Market Behaviour

“…Although Crossley et al . () estimated the effect of participation in a survey module that was fielded only once, their results lend support to the hypothesis that (repeated) survey participation can alter respondents’ behaviour. Moreover, their identification strategy, which uses an IV approach, can be applied to the estimation of panel conditioning effects, and that is the approach which we take in this study.…”

Direct and Indirect Effects of Training Vouchers for the Unemployed

“…The possibility of awareness effects with respect to inconspicuous survey questions has been documented in Crossley et al . (). Comparable effects may occur in the labour market.…”

“…Further, Crépon et al (2014) reported that the mere notification of a planned training assignment has effects on the unemployment exit probability. In a related endeavour, Crossley et al (2014) documented that mere exposure to specific questions in a survey can alter subsequent behaviour. Exploiting randomized assignment to survey modules within the 'Longitudinal Internet studies for the social sciences' panel survey, they found that households answering questions on expenditures and needs in retirement significantly changed their non-housing saving rates.…”

Response of sensitive behaviors to frequent measurement

“…Every measurement we take from human beings has the potential to affect the human behavior we hope to measure (Fitzsimons and Moore, 2008; Warren and Halpern-Manners, 2012; Zwane et al, 2011). Even as scientific attention to these issues grows (Crossley, de Bresser, Delaney, and Winter, 2014; Schneider, Tahk and Krosnick, 2007; Williams, Block, and Fitzsimons, 2006; Wilson and Howell, 2006), the demands for more repetitive measurement— especially multiple measures of the same person—are growing at an even faster pace (Dunton and Atienza, 2009; Ginexi et al, 2013; Schlam et al, 2012). We focus on repeated measures over time—an area of substantial investment of effort, with recent breakthroughs significantly enhancing our ability to conduct measurements of the same people frequently.…”