Experimental tests of the endowment effect and the Coase theorem

Kahneman (1990) · Read the paper

Experiment 1, 44 students in a Cornell law and economics class, mugs sold for $6.00 at the bookstore, induced-value token markets traded as predicted; median selling prices in mug and pen markets more than twice median buying prices; experiment 6, 77 Simon Fraser students, median valuations sellers $7.12, choosers $3.12, buyers $2.87; section VI reports Knetsch (1989): 89 per cent of the mug-endowed class (N = 76) kept mugs, 56 per cent of the choice class (N = 55) chose mugs, 10 per cent of the chocolate-endowed class (N = 87) chose mugs.

Experiment 1, 44 students in a Cornell law and economics class, mugs sold for $6.00 at the bookstore, induced-value token markets traded as predicted; median selling prices in mug and pen markets more than twice median buying prices; experiment 6, 77 Simon Fraser students, median valuations sellers $7.12, choosers $3.12, buyers $2.87; section VI reports Knetsch (1989): 89 per cent of the mug-endowed class (N = 76) kept mugs, 56 per cent of the choice class (N = 55) chose mugs, 10 per cent of the chocolate-endowed class (N = 87) chose mugs.

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doi:10.1086/261737. Full text read: experiment 1, 44 students in a Cornell law and economics class, mugs sold for $6.00 at the bookstore, induced-value token markets traded as predicted; median selling prices in mug and pen markets more than twice median buying prices; experiment 6, 77 Simon Fraser students, median valuations sellers $7.12, choosers $3.12, buyers $2.87; section VI reports Knetsch (1989): 89 per cent of the mug-endowed class (N = 76) kept mugs, 56 per cent of the choice class (N = 55) chose mugs, 10 per cent of the chocolate-endowed class (N = 87) chose mugs.