Video Recordings in Experiments – Are There Effects on Self-Selection or the Outcome of the Experiment?

17 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2018

See all articles by Tim Lohse

Tim Lohse

Berlin School of Economics and Law; Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance; Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE)

Salmai Qari

Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE); German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin); Berlin School of Economics and Law

Date Written: July 21, 2018

Abstract

The use of video recordings in experimental economics has become increasingly popular. However, little attention is paid to how this might affect the composition of the participating subjects and the intended treatment effect. We make a first attempt to shed light on these issues and address them in an incentivized face-to-face tax compliance experiment. The experiment contains two dimensions; i) the level of the fine for non-compliance; and ii) the presence of a recording video camera. The 2x2 design frees the intended treatment effect of the fine from any effect resulting from the announced use of a camera. Our findings point in the direction that neither gender nor personality traits nor other individual characteristics seem to have the explanatory power to predict participation in sessions’ with or without a camera, respectively. Most importantly, the presence of a recording video camera does not affect subjects’ observed decision behavior in the actual experiment.

Keywords: Laboratory experiments, subject pools, convenience samples, video recordings, face-to-face interaction, tax compliance, cheating

JEL Classification: C90, C91, H26

Suggested Citation

Lohse, Tim and Qari, Salmai, Video Recordings in Experiments – Are There Effects on Self-Selection or the Outcome of the Experiment? (July 21, 2018). DIW Berlin Discussion Paper No. 1751, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3239315 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3239315

Tim Lohse (Contact Author)

Berlin School of Economics and Law ( email )

Badensche Strasse 50-51
Berlin, D-10825
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.hwr-berlin.de/en/prof/tim-lohse

Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance

Marstallplatz 1
Munich, 80539
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.tax.mpg.de/en/pub/public_economics/research_affiliates/tim_lohse.cfm

Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE) ( email )

Salmai Qari

Berlin Centre for Empirical Economics (BCEE) ( email )

Berlin
Germany

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Berlin School of Economics and Law ( email )

Badensche Strasse 50-51
Berlin, D-10825
Germany

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