The Preference Survey Module: A Validated Instrument for Measuring Risk, Time, and Social Preferences

68 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2016

See all articles by Armin Falk

Armin Falk

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area; briq - Institute on Behavior & Inequality

Anke Becker

Harvard University

Thomas J. Dohmen

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Maastricht University - Business Investment Research Center (BIRC)

David Huffman

IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Swarthmore College

Uwe Sunde

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU)

Date Written: January 11, 2016

Abstract

This paper presents an experimentally validated survey module to measure six key economic preferences - risk aversion, discounting, trust, altruism, positive and negative reciprocity - in a reliable, parsimonious and cost-effective way. The survey instruments included in the module were the best predictors of preferences revealed in incentivized choice experiments. We also offer a streamlined version of the module that has been optimized and piloted for applications where time efficiency and simplicity are paramount, such as international telephone surveys.

Keywords: survey validation, experiment, preference measurement

JEL Classification: C81, C83, C90

Suggested Citation

Falk, Armin and Becker, Anke and Dohmen, Thomas and Huffman, David and Sunde, Uwe, The Preference Survey Module: A Validated Instrument for Measuring Risk, Time, and Social Preferences (January 11, 2016). Netspar Discussion Paper No. 01/2016-003, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2725874 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2725874

Armin Falk

University of Bonn - Economic Science Area ( email )

briq - Institute on Behavior & Inequality

Schaumburg-Lippe-Straße 5-9
Bonn, 53113
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.briq-institute.org/

Anke Becker

Harvard University ( email )

1875 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Thomas Dohmen (Contact Author)

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Maastricht University - Business Investment Research Center (BIRC) ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, 6200 MD
Netherlands
+31-43-388 3832 (Phone)
+31-43-388 4856 (Fax)

David Huffman

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Swarthmore College

500 College Ave
Swarthmore, PA 19081
United States

Uwe Sunde

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU) ( email )

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1
Munich, DE Bavaria 80539
Germany

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