In this paper, we review selected evidence to demonstrate the value of experiments for policy design with a focus on environmental policy and tax policy. Experiments can substantially improve ex-ante predictions about the outcomes of policy interventions, for example, by serving as...

Motivated by the prevalence of debt crises and the resulting policy debates, this study uses a vignette-based survey to examine the moral intuitions that underlie debt-related policy preferences. After reading a hypothetical scenario involving a debtor and a lender, survey respondents rate the...

The majority of British home and motor insurance policies automatically renew annually, at a price chosen by the provider, unless consumers actively switch or negotiate. Auto-renewal can be beneficial to consumers for example by ensuring continuity of cover. However, the media, consumer groups...

Standard economic theory assumes that agents' valuation of economic outcomes is independent of the process via which these outcomes are produced. Yet Bulte, Gerking, List, and de Zeeuw (2005) found that causes in addition to outcomes matter in valuation. Using a field experiment I test whether...

This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial aimed at testing the effectiveness of an innovative intervention of asset building (Percorsi) on high school students' transition to the university. Contrary to most traditional forms of financial aid, the tested intervention is...

Despite the growing evidence on the negative consequences of school bullying, there is no consensus regarding the most effective strategies to fight this problem. We study the impact of a randomized intervention to reduce school bullying in urban public schools in Peru, a country where violence...

Unfavorable news are often delivered under the disguise of vagueness. But are people sufficiently naive to be fooled by such positive spin? We use a theoretical model and a laboratory experiment to study the strategic use of vagueness in a voluntary disclosure game. Consider a sender who aims at...

We show that formalizing private property rights has a positive effect on the propensity to respect the property of others, a social preference with important implications for growth and economic development. Our identification strategy is based on a unique feature of a recent large-scale...

The efficiency of a financial intermediation system is assessed by its ability to achieve allocative efficiency, asset transformation and the subsequent economic development. In case of an Islamic Banking and Finance as an alternate financial intermediation system adherence to the injunction of...

We experimentally investigate the path dependence of voluntary contributions in a public good game with heterogeneous agents who vary in their ability to increase the public good. More specifically, we analyze whether contribution norms observed in a first phase of the experiment under a...