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  3. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
  4. October 2010
  5. Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation

Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation

  • Xavier Giné
  • Dean Karlan
  • Jonathan Zinman
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 2, no. 4, October 2010
(pp. 213-35)
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Abstract

We designed and tested a voluntary commitment product to help smokers quit smoking. The product (CARES) offered smokers a savings account in which they deposit funds for six months, after which they take a urine test for nicotine and cotinine. If they pass, their money is returned; otherwise, their money is forfeited to charity. Of smokers offered CARES, 11 percent took up, and smokers randomly offered CARES were 3 percentage points more likely to pass the 6-month test than the control group. More importantly, this effect persisted in surprise tests at 12 months, indicating that CARES produced lasting smoking cessation. (JEL D12, I12, O15)

Citation

Giné, Xavier, Dean Karlan, and Jonathan Zinman. 2010. "Put Your Money Where Your Butt Is: A Commitment Contract for Smoking Cessation." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2 (4): 213-35. DOI: 10.1257/app.2.4.213

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
  • I12 Health Production
  • O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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