IS THE ENDOWMENT EFFECT AN EXPECTATIONS EFFECT?

Abstract

A hallmark result within behavioral economics is that individuals' choices are affected by current endowments. A recent theory due to Kőszegi and Rabin ( , Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121, 1133–1165) explains such endowment effect with a model of expectations-based reference-dependent preferences. Departing from past work, we conduct complementary experiments to disentangle expectations—verified probabilistic beliefs held by subjects—from other features of endowment—such as “assignment” to a good—hence allowing us to compare the effect of expectations with that of other variations. While mere assignment can affect choices, we do not find a large role in the effect for Kőszegi–Rabin expectations.