We examine the relevance of experimental findings from laboratory settings that abstract from the field context of the task that theory purports to explain. Using common value auction theory as our guide, we identify naturally occurring settings in which one can test the theory. Experienced...

Does individual behavior in a laboratory setting provide a reliable indicator of be- havior in a naturally occurring setting? We consider this general methodological ques- tion in the context of eliciting risk attitudes. The controls that are typically employed in laboratory settings, such as...

Does individual behavior in a laboratory setting provide a reliable indicator of behavior in a naturally occurring setting? We consider this general methodological question in the context of eliciting risk attitudes. The controls that are typically employed in laboratory settings, such as the...

Whether rationality of economic behavior increases with expected payoffs and decreases with the cognitive cost it takes to formulate an optimal strategy remains an open question. We explore these issues with field data, using individual bids from sealed-bid auctions in which we sold nearly...

Recent empirical evidence suggests that important disparities exist between willingness to pay and compensation demanded for the same good. These results, which clearly contradict closely held economic doctrines, have led some influential commentators to call for an entirely new economic...

Evidence suggests the calibration of hypothetical and actual behavior is good-specific. We examine whether clustering commodities into mutual categories can reduce the burden. While we reject a common calibration across sets of commodities, a sport-specific calibration function cannot be rejected.

Most hypotheses proposed to explain human food sharing address motives, yet most tests of these hypotheses have measured only the patterns of food transfer. To choose between these hypotheses we need to measure peopleç—´ propensity to share. To do that, I played two games (the Ultimatum and...