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  Python 02/08/2024 12:48:PM
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README.pdf application/pdf 189.9 KB 02/08/2024 10:32:PM
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data.csv text/csv 592 KB 12/28/2023 11:56:PM

Project Citation: 

Chassang, Sylvain, and Zehnder, Christian. Data and Code for: Secure Survey Design in Organizations: Theory and Experiments (Chassang & Zehnder, AEJMicro). Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2024. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2024-10-09. https://doi.org/10.3886/E196081V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary Abstract:

We study secure survey designs in organizational settings where fear of retaliation makes it hard to elicit the truth. Theory predicts that: (i) randomized-response techniques offer no improvement, because they are strategically equivalent to direct elicitation, (ii) exogenously distorting survey responses (hard-garbling) can improve information transmission, and (iii) the impact of survey design on reporting can be estimated in equilibrium. Laboratory experiments confirm that hard garbling outperforms direct elicitation, but randomized response works better than expected. False accusations slightly, but persistently bias treatment effect estimates. Additional experiments reveal that play converges to equilibrium if learning from others' experience is possible.

Data and code accompanying the article:

All data used in the article were generated in the course of conducting laboratory
experiments at the University of Lausanne. All subjects were undergraduate students recruited from the University of Lausanne (UNIL), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) or the Swiss Hotel Management School (EHL) using the ORSEE system (Greiner, 2015). Each subject participated in one session only. All interactions of participants were completely anonymous. The experiment was programmed and conducted with z-Tree (Fischbacher, 2007).

The data was collected in two waves. Our main analysis is conducted on a first wave of data -- referred to as the original treatments -- collected from March to May 2015.  We conducted 6 sessions for each treatment. A second wave of data collection -- referred to as the social learning treatments -- was collected between October and November 2015. We conducted again 6 sessions per treatment. Overall we conducted 36 sessions with a total of 720 participants. Each session lasted approximately 90 minutes and subjects earned on average about 37 Swiss Francs (including a show-up fee of 10 Swiss Francs).

This 
deposit provides the data and code to reproduce all results (Figures, Tables and numbers reported in text) of our article. In addition, we also provide the instructions for participants and the code to run the experiment.
Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources Swiss National Science Foundation (100018_152903); Princeton University's Griswold Center

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms secure survey design; randomized response; whistleblowing; bounded rationality
JEL Classification:  View help for JEL Classification
      C72 Noncooperative Games
      C92 Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Group Behavior
      D82 Asymmetric and Private Information; Mechanism Design

Methodology

Collection Mode(s):  View help for Collection Mode(s) other

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