Study of the influence of monetary incentives in conduction of experiments

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46661/rev.metodoscuant.econ.empresa.8329

Keywords:

Behavioral Finance, Financial Forecast, Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristics, Judgment, Monetary Incentive

Abstract

The use of monetary incentives in experiments is a subject of intense debate in academic literature, since there is no consensus regarding its suitability as a tool to encourage the participants of an experiment. Several authors consider it essential, others, however, dismiss its use. This article studies the influence that monetary incentives may or may not produce on the results provided by the participants of an experiment.

To this end, an experiment was conducted with 280 university students, which involved forecasting the future value of a financial index. The experiment was comprised of two phases and was applied to two groups of people. Group 1 was formed with 124 students, to whom a monetary incentive for their participation was offered. Group 2 consisted of 156 students, although considering the difference of not offering a monetary incentive, their participation being free and voluntary. This permitted the comparison of results of both groups with the aim of establishing the degree of influence of the monetary incentive. Likewise, taking into consideration that a financial forecast based on the present value was performed, the influence of the anchoring and adjustment heuristics was measured.

Results were analyzed by means of the Mann-Whitney non-parametrical test and the Chi2 test. It can be concluded that the monetary incentive does not have an impact on the participants’ responses, and the influence of the anchoring and adjustment heuristics in the forecasting of the financial index used in the study was confirmed.

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Author Biographies

Victor Alberto Peña Vargas, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali

PhD in Economics with Summa Cum Laude Mention in Management from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali. Master in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Bogotá, Colombia. Master's Degree in Economics and Management Sciences from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali. Specialization in finance and undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali.

His main lines of research are behavioral finance, financial mathematics, capital markets, corporate finance and financial simulation. Professor of financial analysis, quantitative methods for finance, portfolio management. Researcher member of the Thinking and Praxis Research Group of the Accounting and Finance Department of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences.

Rogelio Ladrón de Guevara Cortés, Universidad Veracruzana

Researcher at IIESCA of the Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico. Ph. D. in Business Studies with Excellent Cum Laude Mention and Master in Financial Markets from the University of Barcelona, Spain. Member of the National System of Researchers of CONACYT and PRODEP Profile. Financial consultant, stock market investor, and independent online trader. Professor of financial subjects in undergraduate and graduate programs. Coordinator of the Financial Research Group. Author of numerous articles in indexed journals and presentations at international conferences and referee of several international journals of economic research.

Alina Gómez Mejía, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali

PhD. in Management Sciences from the University of Rouen (France). Master's degree in Management Sciences from Universidad del Valle (Colombia). Undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Cali.

University professor in finance with professional experience in financial and educational industries.  I have leadered high qualified teams to obtain results in dynamics ambiences. I am characterized by my adaptiveness and learning capacity. My research interest are focus on corporate finance, strategy and behavioral finance.

Jorge Enrique Velasco Díaz, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali

Master in Finance from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali, Colombia. Specialization in finance and undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali.

Certified professional trader before the Colombian Market Autoregulator. University Professor of financial subjects in undergraduate and graduate programs. Participant of lectures in International Congresses.

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2024-12-03

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Peña Vargas, V. A., Ladrón de Guevara Cortés, R., Gómez Mejía, A., & Velasco Díaz, J. E. (2024). Study of the influence of monetary incentives in conduction of experiments . Journal of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Business Administration, 38, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.46661/rev.metodoscuant.econ.empresa.8329

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Vol. 38 (2024)

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Copyright (c) 2024 Victor Pena, Rogelio Ladrón de Guevara Cortés, Alina Gómez Mejía, Jorge Enrique Velasco Díaz

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