Advances and Applications of Experimental Measures to Test Behavioral Saving Theories and a Method to Increase Efficiency in Binary and Multiple Treatment Assignment

by Sebastian Olivier Schneider
Cumulative thesis
Date of Examination:2017-11-24
Date of issue:2017-12-22
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Marcela Ibáñez
Referee:Prof. Dr. Marcela Ibáñez
Referee:Prof. Dr. Martin Schlather
Referee:Prof. Dr. Stephan Klasen
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-6656

 

 

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Abstract

English

This dissertation presents four independent papers that advance experimental methods and test theories on saving using experimentally elicited characteristics. The first two papers test two behavioral theories on precautionary saving based on the characteristics loss aversion and prudence by using a combination of survey data and experimental measures of these preferences from a sample of poor households in Bogota. In that context, the second paper presents a new method to elicit risk preferences with their intensities. The last two papers make a methodological contribution to binary and multiple treatment group assignment in experiments by presenting a new theoretically derived method with a simulation study and a software implementation for its convenient application.
Keywords: Treatment Assignment; Experiment; Multiple Treatment Arms; Treatment Allocation; Stata; Software; Rerandomization; Field Experiment; Binary Treatment Assignment; Precautionary Saving; Prudence; Loss Aversion; Non-parametric utility elicitation; Utility interpolation; Utility Smoothing; Intensity Measure of Characteristics; Kimball measure of prudence; Experimental elicitation of preferences; Bogota; Development; Power; MSE; Mean Squared Error; Optimal Design; RCT; Randomized Controlled Trial; Risk Aversion; Arrow-Pratt measure of prudence; Household Saving; Income Uncertainty
 
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