Using a hyper-specific number like $1,247.32$ makes people fight much harder against budget cuts than if you just said $1,200$.
April 10, 2026
Original Paper
The Anchor-Precision Effect in a Polarized World: Evidence from Field and Experimental Data
SSRN · 6446459
The Takeaway
The level of detail in a number changes how we perceive its 'firmness.' Precise numbers feel backed by hard facts and are harder to argue with, whereas round numbers feel like vague estimates that are easier to push around.
From the abstract
Public managers face a strategic paradox: how to minimize budget cuts from oversight bodies while maximizing public acceptance for inevitable price increases. We investigate the role of numerical precision as a solution to this dual challenge. Integrating 17 years of field data from Taiwan's government budgets (N = 18, 900) with two controlled experiments (N = 1, 350), we demonstrate that the optimal numerical strategy depends on the direction of adjustment. For budgetary defense, precision acts