Browsing by Author "Alpizar, Francisco"

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Anonymity, reciprocity, and conformity: Evidence from voluntary contributions to a national park in Costa Rica
(Springer, 2008) Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Johansson-Stenman, Olof; Alpizar, F. Environment for Development Center, Tropical Agricultural and Higher Education Center (CATIE), 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica
We investigate the role of anonymity, reciprocity, and conformity for voluntary contributions, based on a natural field experiment conducted at a national park in Costa Rica. Contributions made in public in front of the solicitor are 25% higher than contributions made in private. Giving subjects a small gift before requesting a contribution increases the likelihood of a positive contribution. At the same time, the conditional contribution decreases. The total effect of giving a gift is positive but small, and taking the cost of the gift into account, it is far from profitable. When the subjects are told that the typical contribution of others is $2 (a small contribution), the probability of a contribution increases and the conditional contribution decreases, compared with providing no reference information. Providing a high reference level ($10) increases the conditional contributions. Overall, the total effects have the expected signs, although the magnitudes are smaller than what one might have expected based on existing evidence from laboratory experiments.
Anonymity, Reciprocity, and Conformity: Evidence from Voluntary Contributions to a National Park in Costa Rica
(2007-02-21T10:38:55Z) Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Johansson-Stenman, Olof
We investigate the role of anonymity, reciprocity, and conformity for voluntary contributions, based on a natural field experiment conducted at a national park in Costa Rica. Contributions made in public in front of the solicitor are 25% higher than contributions made in private. Giving subjects a small gift before requesting a contribution increases the likelihood of a positive contribution. At the same time, the conditional contribution decreases. The total effect of giving a gift is positive but small, and taking the cost of the gift into account, it is far from profitable. When the subjects are told that the typical contribution of others is $2 (a small contribution), the probability of a contribution increases and the conditional contribution decreases, compared with providing no reference information. Providing a high reference level ($10) increases the conditional contributions. Overall, the total effects have the expected signs, although the magnitudes are smaller than what one might have expected based on existing evidence from laboratory experiments.
Celebrity Endorsement in Promoting Pro-Environmental Behavior
(2020-10) Ho, Thong; Nie, Zihan; Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Khanh Nam, Pham; Gothenburg University
We conduct a natural field experiment on the effect of having a celebrity endorse an information campaign aiming to induce pro-environmental behavior in the context of single-use plastics consumption. We find that an information campaign does not have a significant effect on behavior unless it is endorsed by a celebrity. Subjects in the treatment with a combination of information campaign and celebrity endorsement use around 25% fewer plastic items compared with subjects in the control group. Adding a pledge to the endorsement does not result in an incremental reduction in the use of plastic items. Exploratory analysis suggests that the information campaign itself affect attitudes, but not behavior, and that it is the celebrity endorsement itself that affect behavior.
Does context matter more for hypothetical than for actual contributions? Evidence from a natural field experiment
(2007-04-19T13:02:32Z) Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Johansson-Stenman, Olof
We investigate the importance of the social context for people’s voluntary contributions to a national park in Costa Rica, using a natural field experiment. Some subjects make actual contributions while others state their hypothetical contribution. Both the degree of anonymity and provided information about the contributions of others influence subject contributions in the hypothesized direction. We do find a substantial hypothetical bias with regard to the amount contributed. However, the influence of the social contexts is about the same when the subjects make actual monetary contributions as when they state their hypothetical contributions. Our results have important implications for validity testing of stated preference methods: a comparison between hypothetical and actual behavior should be done for a given social context.
Does context matter more for hypothetical than for actual contributions? Evidence from a natural field experiment
(Springer, 2008) Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Johansson-Stenman, Olof; Alpizar, F. Environment for Development Center, Tropical Agricultural and Higher Education Center (CATIE), 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica
We investigated the importance of the social context for people’s voluntary contributions to a national park in Costa Rica, using a natural field experiment. Some subjects make actual contributions while others state their hypothetical contribution. Both the degree of anonymity and information provided about the contributions of others influence subject contributions in the hypothesized direction. We found a substantial hypothetical bias with regard to the amount contributed. However, the influence of the social contexts is about the same when the subjects make actual monetary contributions as when they state their hypothetical contributions. Our results have important implications for validity testing of stated preference methods: a comparison between hypothetical and actual behavior should be done for a given social context.
The effect of risk, ambiguity, and coordination on farmers’ adaptation to climate change: A framed field experiment
(2009-09-21T11:22:07Z) Alpizar, Francisco; Carlsson, Fredrik; Naranjo, Maria
The risk of loses of income and productive means due to adverse weather associated to climate change can significantly differ between farmers sharing a productive landscape. It is important to learn more about how farmers react to different levels of risk, under measurable and unmeasurable uncertainty. Moreover, the costs associated to investments in reduced vulnerability to climatic events are likely to exhibit economies of scope. We explore these issues using a framed field experiment that captures realistically the main characteristics of production, and the likely weather related loses of premium coffee farmers in Tarrazu, Costa Rica. Given that the region recently was severely hit by an extreme, albeit very infrequent, climatic event, we expected to observe, and found high levels of risk aversion, but we do observe farmers making trade offs under different risk levels. Although hard to disentangle at first sight given the high level of risk aversion, we find that farmer’s opt more frequently for safe options in a setting characterized by unknown risk. Finally, we find that farmers to a large extent are able to coordinate their decisions in order to achieve a lower cost of adaptation, and that communication among farmers strongly facilitates coordination.
How Much Do We Care About Absolute Versus Relative Income and Consumption?
(2001) Johansson-Stenman, Olof; Carlsson, Fredrik; Alpizar, Francisco; Department of Economics
We find, using survey-experimental methods, that most individuals are concerned with both relative income and relative consumption of particular goods. The degree of concern varies in the expected direction depending on the properties of the good. However, contrary to what has been suggested in the previous literature, we find that relative consumption is also important for vacation and insurance, which are typically seen as non-positional goods. Further, absolute consumption is also found to be important for cars and housing, which are widely regarded as highly positional. Implications for Pareto-efficient taxation are illustrated using the results from the experiment.
Policy Implications and Analysis of the Determinants of Travel Mode Choice: An Application of Choice Experiments to Metropolitan Costa Rica
(2001) Carlsson, Fredrik; Alpizar, Francisco; Department of Economics
In this paper we study a group of policies aimed at discouraging the use of private transportation during peak hours, both directly and indirectly, by increasing the attractiveness of the only available substitute, the bus. This is done using a choice experiment constructed to find the answer to the following basic question: Given fixed house-to-work structures and no working hour flexibility, by how much is the choice of travel mode for commuters to work sensitive to changes in travel time, changes in costs for each mode and other service attributes? This information is then used to identify the most suitable combination of policies dealing with air pollution and congestion in the typical developing country context of metropolitan Costa Rica. We also provide estimates of the value of travel time as a measure of the potential benefits gained from reduced congestion.
Using Choice Experiments for Non-Market Valuation
(2001) Martinsson, Peter; Carlsson, Fredrik; Alpizar, Francisco; Department of Economics
This paper provides the latest research developments in the method of choice experiments applied to valuation of non-market goods. Choice experiments, along with the, by now, well-known contingent valuation method, are very important tools for valuing non-market goods and the results are used in both cost-benefit analyses and litigations related to damage assessments. The paper should provide the reader with both the means to carry out a choice experiment and to conduct a detailed critical analysis of its performance in order to give informed advice about the results. A discussion of the underlying economic model of choice experiments is incorporated, as well as a presentation of econometric models consistent with economic theory. Furthermore, a detailed discussion on the development of a choice experiment is provided, which in particular focuses on the design of the experiment and tests of validity. Finally, a discussion on different ways to calculate welfare effects is presented.