Does winning an experimental auction change people's behavior? An application to e-cigarettes
•Subjects bid for e-cigarettes and cigarettes in an experimental nth-price auction.•We conducted telephone follow-up interviews at two weeks, two months, and six months.•E-cigarettes winners were significantly more likely to use e-cigarettes at follow up.•E-cigarettes winners were no less likely to...
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| Published in: | Journal of economic behavior & organization 2018-10, Vol.154, p.281-285 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | •Subjects bid for e-cigarettes and cigarettes in an experimental nth-price auction.•We conducted telephone follow-up interviews at two weeks, two months, and six months.•E-cigarettes winners were significantly more likely to use e-cigarettes at follow up.•E-cigarettes winners were no less likely to use cigarettes at follow up.
Experimental auctions allow researchers to estimate demand for products like e-cigarettes in a non-hypothetical environment where participants face real and immediate consequences for their bids. However, because auction winners actually purchase the product they bid on, participants may be introduced to a product they otherwise would not have discovered. Based on an experimental auction where 432 participants bid to buy e-cigarettes, we found that auction winners are significantly more likely to be using e-cigarettes two weeks, six weeks, and six months after the study but are no less likely to be daily cigarette smokers. This result holds even after controlling for prior e-cigarette use, strength of participants’ initial demand for e-cigarettes, and demographic characteristics. |
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| ISSN: | 0167-2681 1879-1751 |