Search Papers
John A List
Cited by*: 4 Downloads*: 46 
No abstract available
John A List
Cited by*: 16 Downloads*: 40
This special issue highlights an empirical approach that has increasingly grown in prominence in the last decade--field experiments. While field experiments can be used quite generally in economics to test theories' predictions, to measure key parameters, and to provide insights into the generalizability of empirical results, this special issue focuses on using field experiments to explore questions within the economics of charity. The issue contains six distinct field experimental studies that investigate various aspects associated with the economics of charitable giving. The issue also includes a fitting tribute to one of the earliest experimenters to depart from traditional lab methods, Peter Bohm, who curiously has not received deep credit or broad acclaim. Hopefully this issue will begin to rectify this oversight.
John A List
Cited by*: 13 Downloads*: 41
This review steps back from the burgeoning economics literature on measuring social preferences and considers more carefully the empirical evidence from the lab and the field. I place the claims from the ardent supporters of the literature into three bins: one for claims that are supported by the data upon closer scrutiny, one for claims that are not supported by the data upon closer scrutiny, and one for claims that may or may not be true. The third set of claims highlights important theoretical and empirical investigations that need to be done to further our understanding of the nature and import of social preferences.
John A List
Cited by*: 5 Downloads*: 5
Several experimental studies have recently provided strong evidence that the basic independence assumption, which is used in most theoretical and applied economic models to assess the operation of markets, is rarely appropriate. These results, which clearly contradict closely held economic doctrines, have led some influential commentators to call for an entirely new economic paradigm to displace conventional neoclassical theory. This paper refutes the generality of these experimental findings by going to a well-functioning marketplace and examining more than 350 individual decisions across various incentive compatible elicitation mechanisms. The data suggest that individuals with significant marketlike experience behave largely in accordance with neoclassical predictions: any observed WTA/WTP disparity amongst this group can be explained by neoclassical arguments. In light of these findings, I believe that we have discarded neoclassical explanations of the value disparity too quickly. More narrowly, these empirical results have important implications for stated valuation methods, such as contingent valuation.
John A List
Cited by*: 21 Downloads*: 14
Walrasian tatonnement has been a fundamental assumption in economics ever since Walrasian general equilibrium theory was introduced in 1874. Nearly a century after its introduction, Vernon Smith relaxed the Walrasian tatonnement assumption by showing that neoclassical competitive market theory explains the equilibrating forces in double-auction markets. I make a next step in this evolution by exploring the predictive power of neoclassical theory in decentralized naturally occurring markets. Using data gathered from two distinct markets--the sports card and collector pin markets--I find a tendency for exchange prices to approach the neoclassical competitive model prediction after a few market periods.
John A List
Cited by*: 70 Downloads*: 34
This study examines social preferences in three distinct field environments. In the first field setting, I allow consumers of all age and education levels to participate in one-shot and multiple-shot public goods games in a well-functioning marketplace. The second field study, an actual university capital campaign, gathers data from mail solicitations sent to 2,000 Central Florida residents. In the third field experiment, I examine data from an uncontrolled environment, a television gameshow, which closely resembles the classic prisoner's dilemma game. Several insights emerge; perhaps the most provocative is that age and social preferences appear linked.
John A List
Cited by*: 120 Downloads*: 86
Empirical studies have provided evidence that discrimination exists in various markets, but they rarely allow the analyst to draw conclusions concerning the nature of discrimination. By combining data from bilateral negotiations in the sportscard market with complementary field experiments, this study provides a framework that amends this shortcoming. The experimental design, which includes data gathered from more than 1100 market participants, provides sharp findings: (i) there is a strong tendency for minorities to receive initial and final offers that are inferior to those received by majorities, and (ii) overall, the data indicate that the observed discrimination is not due to animus, but represents statistical discrimination.
John A List
Cited by*: 12 Downloads*: 4
Previous studies of income distribution have found evidence indicating that incomes across U.S. regions have converged, supporting the prediction of the neoclassical growth model. A potential shortcoming in these studies is that only one measure of well-being is considered a measure of wealth linked to incomes or production. This paper examines whether income convergence was accompanied by air pollutant emission convergence. Results from unit root tests provide some evidence that indicators of environmental quality have converged across U.S. regions during the 1929-1994 period.
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
This review summarizes the historical place of the seminal contribution of Kahneman et al. (1990), from origins to theory to catalyst of an entire area of scholarship. This new literature has produced evidence both in concert with the original KKT conclusions as well as evidence refuting certain insights from KKT. The general theme of my summary is that even imperfect papers can have deep impact, both within and outside the academy; a lesson that today's critics should consider as young experimentalists continue to fight the tyranny of the top 5.
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
While empirical economics has made important strides over the past half century, there is a recent attack that threatens the foundations of the empirical approach in economics: external validity. Certain dogmatic arguments are not new, yet in some circles the generalizability question is beyond dispute, rendering empirical work as a passive enterprise based on frivolity. Such arguments serve to caution even the staunchest empirical advocates from even starting an empirical inquiry in a novel setting. In its simplest form, questions of external validity revolve around whether the results of the received study can be generalized to different people, situations, stimuli, and time periods. This study clarifies and places the external validity crisis into perspective by taking a unique glimpse into the grandest of trials: The External Validity Trial. A key outcome of the proceedings is an Author Onus Probandi, which outlines four key areas that every study should report to address external validity. Such an evaluative approach properly rewards empirical advances and justly recognizes inherent empirical limitations.
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
In 2019, I put together a summary of data from my field experiments website that
pertained to artefactual field experiments. Several people have asked me if I have an
update. In this document I update all figures and numbers to show the details for 2021. I also include the description from the 2019 paper below.
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
These are the slides from John A. List's keynote at the 2022 AFE conference.
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
In 2019 I put together a summary of data from my field experiments website that pertained to framed field experiments. Several people have asked me if I have an update. In this document I update all figures and numbers to show the details for 2022. I also include the description from the 2019 paper below with appropriate additions
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
Editor's Introduction to JPE Micro
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
Presentation Slides
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
ASSA 2023 presentation
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
In 2019, I put together a summary of data from my field experiments website that pertained to artefactual field experiments. Several people have asked me if I have an update. In this document I update all figures and numbers to show the details for the year 2023. I also include the description from the 2019 paper below. The definition of artefactual field experiments comes originally from Harrison and List (2004) and is advanced in List (2024).
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
Social scientists have increasingly turned to the experimental method to understand human behavior. One critical issue that makes solving social problems difficult is "scaling" the idea from a small group to a larger group in more diverse situations. The urgency of scaling policies impacts us every day, whether it is protecting the health and safety of a community or enhancing the opportunities of future generations. Yet, a common result is that when we scale ideas most experience a "voltage drop": upon scaling, the benefit-cost profile depreciates considerably. To combat voltage drops, we must optimally generate policy-based evidence. Optimality requires answering two crucial questions: what information to generate and in what sequence. The economics underlying the science of scaling provides insights into these questions, which are in some cases at odds with conventional approaches. For example, there are important situations wherein I advocate flipping the traditional social science research model to an approach that, from the beginning, produces the type of policy-based evidence that the science of scaling demands. To do so, I propose augmenting efficacy trials by including relevant tests of scale in the original discovery process, which forces the scientist to naturally start with a recognition of the big picture: what information do I need to haves caling confidence?
John A List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
In 2019, I put together a summary of data from my field experiments website that pertained to natural field experiments (Harrison and List, 2024). Several people have asked me for updates. In this document I update all figures and numbers to show the details for 2023. I also include the description from the original paper below.
John A. List
Cited by*: Downloads*:
This document is meant to introduce my forthcoming book, titled "Experimental Economics: Theory and Practice," which is to be published in 2025 by The University of Chicago Press. The document first contains the book's outline followed by a Preface, which summarizes my inspiration for writing the book and my goals and aspirations for choosing the content contained in the book.