Global Preferences Survey
Elicit risk, time, and social preferences
FAQ
This page provides answers to some frequently asked questions regarding the Global Preferences Survey. We will constantly update this page to reflect user feedback.
How can I access the GPS dataset?
The data can be accessed in the
downloads section.
Where do I find sociodemographic variables?
The downloadable dataset already includes the variables age and gender.
Further sociodemographic variables (income, education etc.) are part of the Gallup World Poll.
You need to merge the GPS individual dataset with the 2012 Gallup World Poll microdata set.
If your academic host institution does not offer access to the Gallup World Poll microdata set you
may contact
Jerry_Hansen@gallup.com and Kris_Hodgins@gallup.com to learn about the license models and pricing. Please note that a
subscription to the Gallup Analytics data visualization portal does not provide sufficient rights to the
individual questionnaire-level data. See also
https://www.gallup.com/178667/gallup-world-poll-work.aspx and
https://www.gallup.com/analytics/232838/world-poll.aspx for more information on the Gallup World Poll.
How do I merge the GPS dataset with the Gallup World Poll dataset?
The GPS individual dataset includes the same personal identifiers as the 2012 Gallup World Poll microdata
set which can be used for the merger. If your academic host institution does not offer access to the Gallup
World Poll microdata set you may contact
Jerry_Hansen@gallup.com and Kris_Hodgins@gallup.com to learn about the license models and pricing.
Please note that a subscription to the Gallup Analytics data visualization portal does not provide sufficient
rights to the individual questionnaire-level data. See also
https://www.gallup.com/178667/gallup-world-poll-work.aspx
and
https://www.gallup.com/analytics/232838/world-poll.aspx for more information on the Gallup World Poll.
Where do I find the disaggregated preference measures?
At the current stage of the project only the GPS datasets including the aggregated preference measures are available for download.
How do I use the questionnaire?
Please download the questionnaire of the relevant country and/or language and follow the interviewer
instructions provided in the respective questionnaires. Note that the questionnaires are only available as PDF files.
How do I compute the preference measures?
If you have already collected data in an experiment or a survey using our questionnaires, you may want to compute the economic preferences at the individual level. You will find a detailed description on the computation at page 20 of the online appendix of Falk et al. "Global Evidence on Economic Preferences". Please note, the weights on altruism have been, unfortunately, mixed up in Table I of the paper. Therefore, we would like to ask you to use only the weights as they are provided in the online appendix.
Is it legal to use the data and questionnaires for commercial purposes?
No. All materials provided may only be used for non-profit and academic purposes.
Which article do I cite when I use the dataset and/or a questionnaire?
The following two articles must be cited in all publications that make use of or refer to the data and/or documentation of the Global Preferences Survey:
- Falk, A., Becker, A., Dohmen, T., Enke, B., Huffman, D., & Sunde, U. (2018). “Global evidence on economic preferences.” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 133 (4), 1645–1692. DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjy013.
-
Falk, A., Becker, A., Dohmen, T., Huffman, D., & Sunde, U. (2023). “The preference survey module: A validated instrument for measuring risk, time, and social preferences.”
Management Science, 69 (4), 1935–2545.
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.4455.
IZA DP version: http://ftp.iza.org/dp9674.pdf
Web Appendix: http://ftp.iza.org/dp9674_app.pdf
How do I interpret the scale of the rankings?
The scale shows the difference to the world mean in standard deviation of the respective preference.