Direct elicitation, guided by theory, is the standard method for eliciting latent preferences. The canonical direct-elicitation approach for measuring individuals' valuations for goods is the Becker-DeGroot-Marschak procedure, which generates willingness-to-pay (WTP) values that are imprecise...

Time preferences and risk preferences play an important role in a wide range of behavior, including financial decisions, entrepreneurship, and the proper incentivizing of agents. Numerous methods have been developed to measure these preferences hypothetically in surveys but they have yielded...

We present evidence that intrinsic demand for information about the future is increasing in expected future consumption utility. In the first experiment, subjects may resolve a lottery now or later. The information is useless for decision making but the larger the reward, the more likely...

Exponential-growth bias is the tendency for individuals to underestimate exponential growth due to neglecting the role of compounding. We run an online study to measure the extent of exponential-growth bias in a representative sample of the U.S. population. We measure the effects of a simple...

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to understand how a web-based retirement saving calculator affects workers’ retirement-savings decisions. In both conditions, the calculator projected workers’ retirement income goal. In the treatment condition, it additionally projected retirement...

We conduct a randomized controlled trial to understand how a web-based retirement saving calculator affects workers' retirement-savings decisions. In both conditions, the calculator projects workers' retirement income goals. In the treatment condition, it also projects retirement income based on...

Social movements have driven large shifts in public attitudes and values, from anti-slavery to marriage equality. A central component of these movements is moral persuasion. We conduct a randomized-controlled trial of pro-vegan animal-welfare pamphlets at a college campus. We observe the effect...

We conduct a randomized controlled trial to understand how a web-based retirement saving calculator affects workers' retirement-savings decisions. In both conditions, the calculator projects workers' retirement income goal. In the treatment condition, it also projects retirement income based on...