@techreport{NBERw12992,
 title = "Field Experiments:  A Bridge Between Lab and Naturally-Occurring Data",
 author = "John A. List",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "12992",
 year = "2007",
 month = "March",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w12992",
 abstract = {Laboratory experiments have been used extensively in economics in the past several decades to lend both positive and normative insights into a myriad of important economic issues.  This study discusses a related approach that has increasingly grown in prominence of late--field experiments.  I argue that field experiments serve as a useful bridge between data generated in the lab and empirical studies using naturally-occurring data.  In discussing this relationship, I highlight that field experiments can yield important insights into economic theory and provide useful guidance to policymakers.  I also draw attention to an important methodological contribution of field experiments:  they provide an empirical account of behavioral principles that are shared across different domains.  In this regard, at odds with conventional wisdom, I argue that representativeness of the environment, rather than representative of the sampled population, is the most crucial variable in determining generalizability of results for a large class of experimental laboratory games.},
}