The effect of priming on fraud: Evidence from a natural field experiment

Bindra, PC; Pearce, G
Date: 30 April 2022
Journal
Economic Inquiry
Publisher
Wiley / Western Economic Association International
Publisher DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.13088
Abstract
We present a natural field experiment to examine if priming can influence behavior in a market for credence goods. 40 testers took 600 taxi journeys in Vienna, Austria, and using a between–subject design we vary the script they spoke, each designed to prime either honesty, dishonesty, or a competitor. We find that the honesty prime ...
We present a natural field experiment to examine if priming can influence behavior in a market for credence goods. 40 testers took 600 taxi journeys in Vienna, Austria, and using a between–subject design we vary the script they spoke, each designed to prime either honesty, dishonesty, or a competitor. We find that the honesty prime increases taxi fares by 5.5% relative to a baseline, the result of overcharging rather than overtreatment. Priming dishonesty and a competitor have no impact on fares. We find that the effects of priming on behavior are likely to be small compared to information asymmetries.
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Economics

Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy

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© 2022 The Authors. Economic Inquiry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Western Economic Association International. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2022 The Authors. Economic Inquiry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Western Economic Association International. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.