www.steinholden.com

Experiments and Behavior


My crop science background taught me experimental design back in the 1980s and my PhD work on farming systems and the potetial of agroforestry Technologies in Zambia utilized both on station and on farm experimental data. My work on preferences using experiments started back in the 1990s and includes studies of risk preferences and time preferences of poor rural households in Ethiopia, Indonesia and Zambia. The research has aimed at assessing how these preferences are related to the level of poverty of households as well as some of the behavioural consequences of their preferences. Such behavioural consequences may also have important policy implications and may provide a basis for interventions on poverty, equity or environmental grounds. For example:


  • Are poor households mining their natural resource base because they are too poor and myopic to be able to conserve it?
  • Can smart interventions be designed to reduce welfare losses due to time inconsistent behavior?
  • Can smart safety nets be provided that can protect poor households from falling into poverty traps?
  • Can smart subsidy programs be designed that can help poor households climb out of poverty and achieve higher welfare levels?
  • How can experiments be used to learn more about how people adapt to climate change

My recent work includes

  • Experiments to assess intrahousehold collaboration, gender balance in decision-making, generosity and intra-household cooperation in the project "Joint land certification: Towards Empowerment or Marginalization?" funded by the Research Council of Norway and in studies of youth livelihood opportunities in Ethiopia (With Sosina Bezu)
  • Experiments to assess how climate risk and shocks affect technology adoption and whether EU theory or Prospect Theory is more appropriate to predict behavior
  • Experiments to assess input demand in agriculture that introduces larger exogenous price variation than what can be found in survey data
  • Experiments with youth to assess whether generosity and trust among youth differs depending on social distance on socio-economic background and context.
  • Experiments With Youth Business Groups to assess how behavioral characteristics are related to performance and outcomes for individuals and groups



Recent contributions:


2024


Journal papers:

Holden, S. T. & Tilahun, M. (2024).Can Climate Shocks Make Vulnerable Subjects More Willing to Take Risks? Environmental and Resource Economics doi: /10.1007/s10640-024-00850-5

Takahashi, R., Otsuka, K., Tilahun, M., Birhane, E., Holden, S. T. (2024). Beyond Ostrom: Randomized experiment of the impact of individualized tree rights on forest management in Ethiopia. World Development 178, June 2024, 106586.doi: /10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106586


2023


Book chapter:

Holden, S. T. & Tilahun, M. (2023). How are social preferences of youth related to their motivation to invest in environmental conservation (local public goods)? Chapter 4 in Behavioural Economics and the Environment: A Research Companion - 1st (routledge.com), edited by A. Bucciol, A. Tavoni, and M. Veronesi. ISBN 9781032003535, February 15, 2023, Forthcoming by Routledge.


Pre-Analysis Plan:

Holden, S. T., Tilahun, M., Sommervoll, D. E., and Sandorf, E. D. (2023).Civil War Impacts on Youth Business Groups in Tigray: A Pre-Analysis Plan and Documentation for Ethical Approval by Institutional Review Board at NMBU.CLTS Report No. 2/2023. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.



Working papers:

Sommervoll, D. E., Holden, S. T., and Tilahun, M. (2023). Intertemporal Choice Lists and Maximal Likelihood Estimation of Discount Rates. CLTS Working Paper No. 09/2023. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


Holden, S. T. and Tione, S. E., Tilahun, M., and Katengeza, S. (2023). How WEIRD are student samples? Lessons based on the trust game in Malawi.CLTS Working Paper No. 06/2023. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


Holden, S. T. & Tilahun, M. (2023). Numeracy Skills, Decision Errors, and Risk Preference Estimation.CLTS Working Paper No. 05/2023. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


Holden, S. T. and Tione, S. E., Tilahun, M., and Katengeza, S. (2023): “Measurement Error, Luck and Risk-Taking by University Students in a Repeated Risky Investment Game”. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4471965orhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4471965


Holden, S. T. & Tilahun, M. (2023). Can climate shocks make vulnerable subjects more willing to take risks? CLTS WP No. 3/2923. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Link


2022


Journal papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2022). Are risk preferences explaining gender differences in investment behavior? Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics Link

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2022.101949


Holden, S. T., Sommervoll, D. E., & Tilahun, M. (2022). Mental Zooming as Variable Asset Integration in Inter-Temporal Choice. International Journal of Applied Behavioral Economics (IJABE), 11(1), 1-21.

http://doi.org/10.4018/IJABE.305241


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2022).Endowment effects in the risky investment game?Theory and Decision, Link


Working papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2022). Can the risky investment game predict real world investments?CLTS Working Paper No. 5/2022. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. 

Zhang, H. and Holden, S. T. (2022). Disability types and children’s schooling in Africa. CLTS Working Paper No. 4/2022. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. 

Holden, S. T., Tilahun, M., and Sommervoll, D. E. (2022). Is diminishing impatience in time-dated risky prospects explained by probability weighting? CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2022. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. 


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2022). Gender differences in investments and risk preferences. CLTS Working Paper No. 2/2022. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


2021


Journal papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2021). Preferences, trust, and performance in youth business groups. PLOS ONE, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257637


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2021). Are land-poor youth accessing rented land? Evidence from northern Ethiopia. Land Use Policy, Volume 108, September 2021, 105516. Link


Working papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2021). Shocks and Stability of Risk Preferences. CLTS Working Paper No. 5/2021. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. 

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2021). How Large is the Endowment Effect in the Risky Investment Game? CLTS Working Paper No. 4/2021. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2021). How are social preferences of youth related to their motivation to invest in environmental conservation (local public goods)? CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2021. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


2020


Working papers:


Holden, S. T., Tilahun, M. and Sommervoll, D. E. (2020). Magnitude Effects and Utility Curvature in Inter-temporal Choice. CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2020. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. 


Holden, S. T., Sommervoll, D. E. and Tilahun, M. (2020). Mental Zooming as Variable Asset Integration in Inter-temporal Choice. CLTS Working Paper No. 7/2020. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway.


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2020). Endowment Effects and Loss Aversion in the Risky Investment Game. CLTS Working Paper No. 1/2020. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


CLTS Research Report:

Holden, S. T., Tilahun, M., Vorlaufer, T. and Engel, S. (2020). The effects of gender empowerment training on within-group gender differences in performance and overall group performance: A Pre-Analysis Plan. CLTS Report No. 1/2020. Center for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Conference Presentations:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2020). Endowment Effects and Loss aversion in the Risky Investment Game. Paper presented at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Norwegian Association of Economists, NMBU, Ås, 6-7th January 2020. Link


2019


Journal papers:

Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2019). Exchange asymmetries in productive assets: Tools, fertilizer or cash? World Development 115, 269-278. Link


Working papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2019). How Do Social Preferences and Norms of Reciprocity affect Generalized and Particularized Trust? CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2019. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2019). How related are risk preferences and time preferences? CLTS Working Paper No. 4/2019. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2019). The Devil is in the Details: Risk Preferences, Choice List Design, and Measurement Error. CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2019. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Conference Presentations:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2019). How Do Social Preferences and Norms of Reciprocity affect Generalized and Particularized Trust? Presented at the Sustainability and Development Conference at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, October 11-14, 2019. Link


Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2019). The Devil is in the Details: Risk Preferences, Choice List Design, and Measurement Error. Presented at the Nordic Conference in Behavioral and Experimental Economics in Kiel, Germany, on September 27-28, 2019. Link


2018


Working papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2018). Gender Differences in Risk Tolerance, Trust and Trustworthiness: Are They Related? CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2018. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Conference presentations

Presentation at the CSAE Conference, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford, Oxford 18-20th March 2018: Group Trust in Youth Business Groups: Influenced by Risk Tolerance and Expected Trustworthiness Link


2017


Conference presentations

Presentation at the 12th Nordic Conference in Behavioral and Experimental Economics in Gothenburg October 6-7th October 2017: Group Trust in Youth Business Groups: Influenced by Risk Tolerance and Expected Trustworthiness Link


Presentation at the Nordic Conference in Development Economics at Gothenburg University, 12-13. June 2017: Subjective Probability Weighting and Input Use Intensity. Powerpoint Paper Link.


My presentation at the SEEDEC conference at University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, 20-21. April 2017: Exchange Asymmetries in Productive Assets: Tools, Fertilizer or Cash? Link


I presented the paper "Bounded awareness and anomalies in intertemporal choice: Google Earth as metaphor and model", coauthored with John Quiggin at the 39th Annual Meeting of the Norwegian Association of Economists, at Oslo Business School, January 3-4, 2017.



Journal papers:

Holden, S. T. and Quiggin, J. (2017). Bounded awareness and anomalies in intertemporal choice: Zooming in Google Earth as both metaphor and model. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, DOI: 10.1007/s11166-017-9254-2. Link


Tadesse, M. A., Alfnes, F., Erenstein, O., Holden, S. T. (2017).  Demand for a labor-based drought insurance scheme in Ethiopia: a stated choice experiment approach. Agricultural Economics, doi: 10.1111/agec.12351. Link


Holden, S. T. and Quiggin, J. (2017). Climate risk and state-contingent technology adoption: shocks, drought tolerance and preferences. European Review of Agricultural Economics 44 (2), 285–308. doi: 10.1093/erae/jbw016. Link


Working papers:

Holden, S. T. and Tilahun, M. (2017). Group Trust in Youth Business Groups: Influenced by Risk Tolerance and Expected Trustworthiness. CLTS Working Paper No. 13/2017. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. and Quiggin, J. (2017). Probability Weighting and Input Use Intensity in a State-Contingent Framework. CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2017. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Earlier journal papers


Holden, S. T. and Westberg, N. B. (2016). Exploring technology use under climate risk and shocks through an experimental lens. African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 10 (1): 47-62. Link


Bezu, S. and Holden, S.T. (2015). Generosity and sharing among villagers: Do women give more?. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics 57: 103-111. Link


Ghebru, H. and Holden, S.T. (2015). Technical Efficiency and Productivity Differential Effects of Land Right Certification: A Quasi-Experimental Evidence. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 54 (1): 1-31. Link


Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2014). Input Subsidies, Cash Constraints and Timing of Input Supply. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 96(1): 290–307.Link


Working papers:


Bezu, S. and Holden, S. T. (2015). Street based self-employment: A poverty trap or a stepping stone for migrant youth in Africa? CLTS Working Paper No. 4/2015. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T.  and Quiggin, J. (2015). Bounded awareness and anomalies in intertemporal choice: Google Earth as metaphor and model. School of Economics and Business Working paper No. 13/2015. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T (2015). Risk Preferences, Shocks and Technology Adoption: Farmers’ Responses to Drought Risk. CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2015. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2014). Tools, Fertilizer or Cash? Exchange Asymmetries in Productive Assets. CLTS Working Paper No. 13/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. (2014). Risky Choices of Poor People: Comparing Risk Preference Elicitation Approaches in Field Experiments. CLTS Working Paper No. 10/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2014). Are Wives less Selfish than their Husbands? Evidence from Hawk-Dove Game Field Experiments. CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. (2014). Explaining anomalies in intertemporal choice: A mental zooming theory. CLTS Working Paper No. 2/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2014). Intra-household Coordination, Cooperation and Pareto-efficiency: Lab-in-the-Field Hawk-Dove Game Experiments. Paper presented at the Norwegian Economists' Annual Conference, January 6-7th, 2014. Link


Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2013). Joint Land Certification and Intra-household Decision-making: Towards Empowerment of Wives?. CLTS Working Paper No. 14/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Bezu, S. and Holden, S. T. (2013). Land Access and Youth Livelihood Opportunities in Southern Ethiopia CLTS Working Paper No. 11/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Presentation at the Fifth World Congress of Environmental and Resource Economists (WCERE) 28 June - 2. July, 2014, Istanbul, Turkey: "High Discount Rates: An Experimental Artifact of Caused by Poverty and Vulnerability?" By Stein Holden


Holden, S. T. (2013). High discount rates: - An artifact caused by poorly framed experiments or a result of people being poor and vulnerable? CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Tadesse, M., Alfnes, F., Holden, S. T. and Erenstein, O.(2013). Demand for drought insurance in Ethiopia. Chapter 17 in R. Gommes and F. Kayitakire (Eds.), The challenges of index-based insurance for food security in developing countries. European Union, Luxembourg Publications Office, Luxembourg.


Bezu, Sosina and Stein T. Holden (2013). Land Access and Youth Livelihood Opportunities in Southern Ethiopia CLTS Working Paper No. 11/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Holden, Stein T. (2013). High discount rates: - An artifact caused by poorly framed experiments or a result of people being poor and vulnerable? CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link


Sosina Bezu and Stein Holden. Generosity and social distance in dictator game field experiments with and without a face. CLTS Working Paper No. 1/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link. Powerpoint


Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2010). Cash Constraints and Sticky Input Expenditures: -Experimental Evidence from Malawi. Paper prepared for presentation at Samfunnsøkonomenes Årskonferanse, 5-7. January 2011, at Norges Handelshøyskole, Bergen. Abstract


Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2010). Impacts of the fertilizer subsidy program in Malawi: Targeting, household perceptions and preferences. Report to NORAD. Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Link to paper. Link to blog briefs


Earlier publications:


Wik, M., Aragie, T. K., Bergland, O. and Holden, S. T. (2004). On the Measurement of Risk Aversion from Experimental Data. Applied Economics 36, 2443-2451. Link


Holden, S. T. and Shiferaw, B. (2002). Poverty and Land Degradation: Peasants’ Willingness to Pay to Sustain Land Productivity. In C. B. Barrett, F. M. Place, and A. A. Aboud (eds.), Natural Resource Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices. CABI Publishing in Association with International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Oxon and New York. Link


Holden, S. T., Shiferaw, B. and Wik, M.(1998). Poverty, Market Imperfections, and Time Preferences: Of Relevance for Environmental Policy? Environment and Development Economics 3: 105-130. Abstract. Link

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