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Screening for Honesty

Author

Listed:
  • Ruffle, Bradley

    (Wilfrid Laurier University)

  • Tobol, Yossef

    (Jerusalem College of Technology (JTC))

Abstract

We report the results of a field experiment on honesty conducted on 427 Israeli soldiers fulfilling their mandatory military service. Each soldier rolled a six-sided die in private and reported the outcome to the unit's cadet coordinator. For every point reported, the soldier received an additional half hour early release from the army base on Thursday afternoon. We find that the higher a soldier's military entrance score, the more honest he is on average. Moreover, to the extent that honesty is a valued trait, regression discontinuity analysis reveals that the Israeli military has optimally set the threshold score to qualify to be an officer. Our results bear important implications for the design of screening tests that evaluate employee honesty.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruffle, Bradley & Tobol, Yossef, 2014. "Screening for Honesty," IZA Discussion Papers 8286, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8286
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    experimental methods; honesty; personnel selection; soldiers; high non-monetary stakes; regression discontinuity design;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions

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