TY - JOUR
T1 - Put your money where your butt is
T2 - A commitment contract for smoking cessation
AU - Giné, Xavier
AU - Karlan, D.
AU - Zinman, Jonathan
PY - 2010/10
Y1 - 2010/10
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952595616&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79952595616&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1257/app.2.4.213
DO - 10.1257/app.2.4.213
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79952595616
SN - 1945-7782
VL - 2
SP - 213
EP - 235
JO - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
JF - American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
IS - 4
ER -