Article (Scientific journals)
The ratio bias phenomenon: fact or artifact?
Lefebvre, Mathieu; Vieder, Ferdinand; Villeval, MArie-Claire
2011In Theory and Decision, 71 (4), p. 615-641
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
 

Files


Full Text
Ratio_Bias.pdf
Author preprint (256.67 kB)
Download

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Keywords :
Ratio bias; Error rates; Financial incentives; Experiment
Abstract :
[en] The ratio bias—according to which individuals prefer to bet on probabilities expressed as a ratio of large numbers to normatively equivalent or superior probabilities expressed as a ratio of small numbers—has recently gained momentum, with researchers especially in health economics emphasizing the policy importance of the phenomenon. Although the bias has been replicated several times, some doubts remain about its economic significance. Our two experiments show that the bias disappears once order effects are excluded, and once salient and dominant incentives are provided. This holds true for both choice and valuation tasks. Also, adding context to the decision problem does not alter this finding. No ratio bias could be found in between-subject tests either, which leads us to the conclusion that the policy relevance of the phenomenon is doubtful at best.
Disciplines :
Microeconomics
Author, co-author :
Lefebvre, Mathieu  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC-Ecole de gestion : UER > Economie politique et finances publiques
Vieder, Ferdinand
Villeval, MArie-Claire
Language :
English
Title :
The ratio bias phenomenon: fact or artifact?
Publication date :
2011
Journal title :
Theory and Decision
ISSN :
0040-5833
eISSN :
1573-7187
Publisher :
Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands
Volume :
71
Issue :
4
Pages :
615-641
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Available on ORBi :
since 20 June 2011

Statistics


Number of views
69 (3 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
180 (0 by ULiège)

Scopus citations®
 
14
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
14
OpenCitations
 
12

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi