Free-Riding in the Lab and in the Field

Florian Englmaier and Georg Gebhardt

No 3612, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: To investigate the external validity of laboratory results, we combine a public good experiment with three treatments in a field experiment. One treatment offers the opportunity to free-ride, the other two are placebo treatments. We compare results within subjects. In the free-riding treatment, subjects who contribute little in the lab are less productive. This effect is quantitatively as important as the effect of ability. The correlation between lab and field disappears in the two placebo treatments. We conclude that we can use lab experiments to learn about behavior in situations that share the game form but not necessarily the frame.

Keywords: field and lab experiments; external validity; public goods; team production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C93 D01 D64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Working Paper: Free Riding in the Lab and in the Field (2010)
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