Who’s Afraid of Policy Experiments?

Robert Dur, Arjan Non, Paul Prottung and Benedetta Ricci
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Arjan Non: Erasmus University Rotterdam

No 23-027/V, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers from Tinbergen Institute

Abstract: In many public policy areas, randomized policy experiments can greatly contribute to our knowledge of the effects of policies and can thus help to improve public policy. However, policy experiments are not very common. This paper studies whether a lack of appreciation of policy experiments among voters may be the reason for this. Using unique survey data representative of the Dutch electorate, we find clear evidence contradicting this view. Voters strongly support policy experimentation and, in line with theory, particularly so when they do not hold a strong opinion about the policy. In a subsequent survey experiment among Dutch politicians, we find that politicians conform their expressed opinion about policy experiments to what we tell them the actual opinion of voters is. We conclude that voters are not afraid of policy experiments and neither are politicians when we tell them that voters are not.

Keywords: policy experiments; randomized controlled trials; voters; politicians; public policy; survey experiment; conformism. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D72 D78 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-05-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-des, nep-eur, nep-exp, nep-hpe and nep-pol
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https://papers.tinbergen.nl/23027.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Who's Afraid of Policy Experiments? (2025)
Working Paper: Who’s Afraid of Policy Experiments? (2024)
Working Paper: Who's Afraid of Policy Experiments? (2023)
Working Paper: Who's Afraid of Policy Experiments? (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:tin:wpaper:20230027

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