Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
We report data from the first incentivized artefactual field experiment conducted in China to understand whether Chinese migrants differ from non-migrants in terms of preferences regarding risk and uncertainty in various contexts. We find that, compared to non-migrants, migrants are significantly more likely to enter competitions when they expect competitive entries from others; however, migrants are not different from non-migrants in risk and ambiguity preferences where strategic uncertainty is absent. Our results suggest that migration may be driven more by a stronger belief in one’s chance of succeeding in an uncertain competitive environment than by differences risk attitudes related to state uncertainty.