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Unnatural experiments: the case of television game shows

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  • Charles Reback
  • Kristin Stowe

Abstract

Economists often use television game shows as 'natural experiments' to test theories on risk aversion. This article demonstrates that some of these natural experiments may not be so natural after all. Using data from Jeopardy!, we show that contestants are chosen to maintain a gender balance, with the result that men outperform women across several dimensions. This selection bias suggests that caution should be exercised in generalizing findings based on these shows to the population as a whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles Reback & Kristin Stowe, 2011. "Unnatural experiments: the case of television game shows," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(10), pages 919-923.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:18:y:2011:i:10:p:919-923
    DOI: 10.1080/13504851.2010.515198
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thierry Post & Martijn J. van den Assem & Guido Baltussen & Richard H. Thaler, 2008. "Deal or No Deal? Decision Making under Risk in a Large-Payoff Game Show," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(1), pages 38-71, March.
    2. Daniel K. N. Johnson & Tracy R. Gleason, 2009. "Who REALLY Wants to be a Millionaire? Gender Differences in Game Show Contestant Behavior Under Risk," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(2), pages 243-261, June.
    3. Daniel Mulino & Richard Scheelings & Robert Brooks & Robert Faff, 2009. "Does Risk Aversion Vary with Decision‐Frame? An Empirical Test Using Recent Game Show Data," Review of Behavioral Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 1(1/2), pages 44-61, September.
    4. Robert Gertner, 1993. "Game Shows and Economic Behavior: Risk-Taking on "Card Sharks"," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(2), pages 507-521.
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    Cited by:

    1. Buser, Thomas & van den Assem, Martijn J. & van Dolder, Dennie, 2023. "Gender and willingness to compete for high stakes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 350-370.

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