The Endowment Effect in the General Population

Fehr, Dietmar und Kübler, Dorothea (22. Dezember 2022): The Endowment Effect in the General Population. Collaborative Research Center Transregio 190, Discussion Paper No. 353

Abstract

We study the endowment effect and expectation-based reference points in the field leveraging the setup of the Socio-Economic Panel. Households receive a small item for taking part in the panel, and we randomly assign respondents either a towel or a notebook, which they can exchange at the end of the interview. We observe a trading rate of 32 percent, consistent with an endowment effect, but no relationship with loss aversion. Manipulating expectations of the exchange opportunity, we find no support for expectation-based reference points. However, trading predicts residential mobility and is related to stock-market participation, i.e., economic decisions that entail parting with existing resources.

• Dokumententyp: Paper
• Keywords: exchange asymmetry; reference-dependent preferences; loss aversion; field experiment; SOEP
• Fakultät: Volkswirtschaft > Collaborative Research Center Transregio "Rationality and Competition"
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 330 Wirtschaft
• JEL Classification: C93, D84, D91
• Sprache: Englisch