Referenda Under Oath

Abstract

International audienceHerein we explore whether a solemn oath can eliminate hypothetical bias in a voting referenda, a popular elicitation mechanism promoted in non-market valuation exercises for its incentive compatibility properties. First, we reject the null hypothesis that a hypothetical bias does not exist. Second, we observe that people who sign an oath are significantly less likely to vote for the public good in a hypothetical referenda. We complement this evidence with a self-reported measure of honesty which confirms that the oath increases truthfulness in answers. This result opens interesting avenues for improving the elicitation of preferences in the lab and beyond

Are Ex‐Ante Hypothetical Bias Calibration Methods Context Dependent? Evidence from Online Food Shoppers in China

“…This argument is based on evidence from social psychology that tests the effect of making a promise (Albarracín et al 2005;Durantini et al 2006;Girandola and Bernard 2007). Recent studies have investigated the effect of an oath script in environmental studies (Carlsson et al 2013;Jacquemet et al 2011Jacquemet et al , 2013Jacquemet et al , 2017 and food surveys (de-Magistris and Pascucci 2014). Jacquemet et al (2011) suggest that under oath, bidders seem to take both the budget constraint and participation constraint more seriously than with a cheap-talk script.…”

“…Jacquemet et al (2011) suggest that under oath, bidders seem to take both the budget constraint and participation constraint more seriously than with a cheap-talk script. Jacquemet et al (2017) found that making a promise can decrease or even eliminate the existence of hypothetical bias. Similarly, Carlsson et al (2013) shows that using an oath script, the share of zero WTP responses and extremely high WTP responses decreases.…”

Contemporary Guidance for Stated Preference Studies

“…In general, treatments that explicitly reduce consequentiality are not recommended. 53 Other approaches that have been suggested include honesty-based methods, for example, in which respondents are asked to sign a truth-telling oath ( Jacquemet et al 2013( Jacquemet et al , 2016Stevens, Tabatabaei, and Lass 2013). Those who do not agree to sign the oath may be excluded from the analysis, although this does not always influence results; the primary function of the oath script is to increase respondents' commitment and attention (Carlsson et al 2013).…”

“…In SP studies, responses to supporting, debriefing, or follow-up questions have been used (a) as covariates within models, (b) to segment or restrict the sample, (c) to develop inferences about the validity of valuation responses, or (d) to support ex post validity adjustments to valuation responses. Responses used for such purposes include questions on attitudes, knowledge, or experience; acceptance and understanding of scenarios; uses of the goods in question; certainty in responses (see review in Champ, Moore, and Bishop 2009), emotions Araña, León, and Hanemann 2008), and truth-telling oaths ( Jacquemet et al 2013( Jacquemet et al , 2016, among others.…”

Recent Trends in Behavioral Environmental Economics

“…Furthermore, triggering an intrinsic moral motivation could also support an economic commitment. Jaquement et al (2016) experimentally investigate whether an oath can create a real economic commitment to reduce the hypothetical bias in a voting referendum. In their experiment, groups of five players agree on whether to adopt a dolphin via WWF through majority voting in five successive referenda.…”