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. 2011 Feb 1;108(5):1821-6.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1000776108. Epub 2011 Jan 18.

Being surveyed can change later behavior and related parameter estimates

Alix Peterson Zwane  1 , Jonathan Zinman, Eric Van Dusen, William Pariente, Clair Null, Edward Miguel, Michael Kremer, Dean S Karlan, Richard Hornbeck, Xavier Giné, Esther Duflo, Florencia Devoto, Bruno Crepon, Abhijit Banerjee
Affiliations

Being surveyed can change later behavior and related parameter estimates

Alix Peterson Zwane et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Does completing a household survey change the later behavior of those surveyed? In three field studies of health and two of microlending, we randomly assigned subjects to be surveyed about health and/or household finances and then measured subsequent use of a related product with data that does not rely on subjects' self-reports. In the three health experiments, we find that being surveyed increases use of water treatment products and take-up of medical insurance. Frequent surveys on reported diarrhea also led to biased estimates of the impact of improved source water quality. In two microlending studies, we do not find an effect of being surveyed on borrowing behavior. The results suggest that limited attention could play an important but context-dependent role in consumer choice, with the implication that researchers should reconsider whether, how, and how much to survey their subjects.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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