Precautionary Saving and Social Learning Across Generations: an Experiment
通过实验研究个体如何解决生命周期预防性储蓄任务，发现后一代在观察和沟通中表现显著优于前一代，揭示了社会学习对个人决策的重要性。
We use experimental methods to study how individuals solve life cycle 'precautionary savings' tasks. Some results resemble previous experimental work on dynamic optimisation tasks. Within our experiment, however, opportunities exist for subjects to learn from one another. Subjects participated in three-member 'families'. Second and third 'generation' subjects observe and/or communicate with their 'antecedent' first or second generation subject. We find that later generations perform significantly better than earlier generations. The results speak to questions concerning the precautionary model of consumption, the modelling of dynamic decision behaviour more generally, and the possible importance of social learning to individual decision-making. Copyright 2003 Royal Economic Society.