Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/32591 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
Jena Economic Research Papers No. 2009,074
Publisher: 
Friedrich Schiller University Jena and Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena
Abstract: 
In experimental economics there exists a lively debate about the independence of observations. Although opinions on the issue differ widely, all concerns regard the independence of subjects' behavior within one session or experiment. This paper attempts to shed some light on the independence of observations between experiments, if they are generated by the same subjects. We analyze experiments with an allocation decision and find that participation in previous experiments tends to increase the amount subjects allocate to themselves. Hence, independence between experiments cannot be presumed if subjects participate repeatedly. The finding has implications for the interpretation of previous allocation decision results and deserves attention when running future experiments.
Subjects: 
experimental methods
independence of observations
social preferences
conditional cooperation
JEL: 
C90
D03
D84
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
513.21 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.