Logo Lanfrica
  • Home
  • Atlas
  • Insights
  • Docs
  • Sign in

© 2026 Lanfrica. All rights reserved. All copyrights of the resources shown on the Lanfrica website belong to the original copyright holders, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Using survey questions to measure preferences: Lessons from an experimental validation in Kenya

Domain:

socioeconomic

Record type:

dataset
Creator:
BauChyMiguel, Edward
Editor:
Miguel, Edward
Publisher:
Har
Host:avatar
Can a short survey instrument reliably measure a range of fundamental economic preferences across diverse settings? We focus on survey questions that systematically predict behavior in incentivized experimental tasks among German university students (Becker et al. 2016) and were implemented among representative samples across the globe (Falk et al. 2018). This paper presents results of an experimental validation conducted among low-income individuals in Nairobi, Kenya. We find that quantitative survey measures – hypothetical versions of experimental tasks – of time preference, attitude to risk and altruism are good predictors of choices in incentivized experiments, suggesting these measures are broadly experimentally valid. At the same time, we find that qualitative questions – self-assessments – do not correlate with the experimental measures of preferences in the Kenyan sample. Thus, caution is needed before treating self-assessments as proxies of preferences in new contexts.

Visit

doi.orgdataverse.harvard.edu

Tags

Social Sciencespreference measurementsurveyvalidationexperiment

Licenses

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessCreative Commons Zero v1.0 Universalhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

Similar

Supplemental_Material - Validation of a Pictorial Survey Tool to Measure Time Use in an African Urban SettingMethodological Evaluation of District Hospital Systems in Kenya Using Quasi-Experimental Design to Measure Risk ReductionMicrocredit Made to Measure: Experimental Evidence from Rural MoroccoApplying Resilience Thinking to Questions of Policy for Pastoralist Systems: Lessons from the Gabra of Northern KenyaAn experimental game to examine pastoralists' preferences for human–lion coexistence strategiesConstruct validation of an instrument to measure patient satisfaction with pharmacy services in Nigerian hospitals

Supplemental_Material - Validation of a Pictorial Survey Tool to Measure Time Use in an African Urban Setting

Supplemental_Material for Validation of a Pictorial Survey Tool to Measure Time Use in an African Ur

Methodological Evaluation of District Hospital Systems in Kenya Using Quasi-Experimental Design to Measure Risk Reduction

District hospitals in Kenya play a crucial role in healthcare delivery, yet their effective

Microcredit Made to Measure: Experimental Evidence from Rural Morocco

Does matching loan repayments to expected cash flows raise take-up and the welfare impact of microcr

Applying Resilience Thinking to Questions of Policy for Pastoralist Systems: Lessons from the Gabra of Northern Kenya

An experimental game to examine pastoralists' preferences for human–lion coexistence strategies

Abstract Reconciling conflicts between wildlife conservation and other human activities is a

Construct validation of an instrument to measure patient satisfaction with pharmacy services in Nigerian hospitals