Nathan Benefield visiting Susquehanna - April 13

Deception in Experiments

My newest paper to come out is titled "Deception in Experiments: Towards Guidelines on use in Applied Economics Research" and is co-authored with Carola Grebitus, Maria Loureiro, Jay Corrigan, and Greg Colson.

Link here

Abstract:

Many applied economics journals ban the use of deception in experiments, which contrasts with the policies in other academic disciplines. We examine the cases for and against deception, and describe the ways deception can be employed in applied economics experiments. We create a general ranking of harms from deception in experiments and present evidence from a survey (conducted in summer 2014) of agricultural and applied economists eliciting attitudes towards ten different deceptive practices. Survey respondents view inflicting physical or psychological harm on participants and not making promised payments as the most severe forms of deception. Less severe forms of deception include providing participants with incomplete product information and conducting an experiment using participants who are not aware they are part of an experiment. Finally, we provide recommendations for policies addressing deception in experiments.

My newest oped: What PA should do about the minimum wage

Link here

Excerpt:

Pennsylvania's new governor, Tom Wolf, has proposed an increase in the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

This increase, which would make Pennsylvania's minimum wage one of the highest in the nation, would be a terrible idea.

An alternative put forward by state Sen. Scott Wagner's, R-York, which increases the minimum wage to $8.75 per hour while holding it constant (at $7.25) for teenagers--is better than Wolf's proposal, although it still would be quite bad for Pennsylvanians.