Reference Points and Effort Provision

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Abeler, Johannes; Falk, Armin; Goette, Lorenz; Huffman, David
• 署名单位: University of Nottingham; University of Bonn; University of Lausanne; Swarthmore College
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.2.470
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 470-492
• 关键词: SOCIAL DISTANCE; loss aversion; disappointment; Consistency; DECISION; fairness; BEHAVIOR; CHOICE

摘要

A key open question for theories of reference-dependent preferences is: what determines the reference point? One candidate is expectations: what people expect could affect how they feel about what actually occurs. In a real-effort experiment, we manipulate the rational expectations of subjects and check whether this manipulation influences their effort provision. We find that effort provision is significantly different between treatments in the way predicted by models of expectation-based, reference-dependent preferences: if expectations are high, subjects work longer and earn more money than if expectations are low. (JEL D12, D84, J22)