Is the Endowment Effect a Reference Effect?

Ori Heffetz and John List

No 16715, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper is aimed to assess, with two lab experiments, to what extent Kőszegi and Rabin's (2006) model of expectations-based reference-dependent preferences can explain Knetsch's (1989) endowment effect. Departing from past work, we design an experiment that treats the two goods (a mug and a pen) symmetrically in all but in the probabilities with which they are expected to be owned. Thus, our "endowmentless" endowment effect experiment shuts down all alternative mechanisms while leaving expectations the only difference between treatments. We find no evidence that expectations alone can reproduce any of the original effect.

JEL-codes: C9 D11 Q26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-upt
Note: EEE PE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Published as IS THE ENDOWMENT EFFECT AN EXPECTATIONS EFFECT? Ori Heffetz1 andJohn A. List2 Article first published online: 20 MAY 2014 DOI: 10.1111/jeea.12084 © 2014 by the European Economic Association Issue Journal of the European Economic Association Journal of the European Economic Association Volume 12, Issue 5, pages 1396–1422, October 2014

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