Validating List Experiment Estimates Against an Incentive-Compatible Behavioral Measure

John List

Framed Field Experiments from The Field Experiments Website

Abstract: List Experiments are widely used across the social sciences to measure sensitive attitudes and behaviors, yet no prior study has validated their estimates against an incentive-compatible behavioral measure. I conduct a field experiment with 400 subjects at a sports card show, combining List Experiment treatments for willingness to pay, one for wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone Park, one for a graded sports card, with a Vickrey second-price auction that provides a real-money benchmark. The List Experiment estimates 26% would pay $50 for the card, compared to 22% who bid at least that amount in the auction; this difference is not statistically significant. These results provide the first criterion validity test of a List Experiment and suggest the method holds promise as a parsimonious alternative to conventional stated preference approaches in settings where survey space constraints preclude standard bias-mitigation interventions.

Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:feb:framed:00830

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