Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/101329 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
IFS Working Papers No. W14/06
Publisher: 
Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), London
Abstract: 
Much empirical research in economics is based on data from household surveys. Panel surveys are particularly valuable for understanding dynamics and heterogeneity. A possible concern with panel surveys is that survey participation itself may alter subsequent behavior. We provide novel evidence of survey effects on a central life-cycle choice: household saving. We exploit randomized assignment to survey modules within the LISS Panel, an internet panel survey which is representative of the Dutch population. We find that households that respond to detailed questions on expenditures and needs in retirement reduced their non-housing saving rate by 3.5 percentage points, on average. This mean effect is driven by high-education households which have the highest pension and housing wealth. Our saving measure is based on linked administrative wealth data. Thus we can rule out the possibility that the effect is on reporting, rather than on the underlying saving behavior. One interpretation is that the survey acted as a salience shock, possibly with respect to reduced housing costs in retirement.
Subjects: 
survey effects
savings
administrative data
retirement
JEL: 
C83
D14
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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