Informing and inquiring: Experimental evidence on reducing traffic violations

Jinan Zhang, Jeffrey Perloff and Fangwen Lu

Journal of Development Economics, 2020, vol. 147, issue C

Abstract: This large-scale field experiment examines what kind of text messages from the police can reduce traffic violations in China. A warning treatment informed drivers that most intersections have traffic monitoring devices. A penalty treatment informed drivers of the penalty for running a red light in addition to the warning message. An inquiry treatment asked drivers for their opinions on how to best disseminate the warning message. The two information treatments did not affect the frequency of subsequent violations. However, the request for an opinion substantially reduce subsequent violations. A post-experiment survey suggests that the inquiry promoted a feeling of cooperativeness.

Keywords: Opinion seeking; Traffic violations; Field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D91 K42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:147:y:2020:i:c:s0304387820301097

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102534

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