Ought (Only) Economists to Defect? Stereotypes, Identity, and the Prisoner Dilemma

An observed discrepancy in the behaviour of Economics students and non-Economics ones in game theoretical experiments indicates that the former are more selfish. The prevalent explanation for this is that they are 'born economists' and thus self-select themselves into the discipline. This belief is supported by the observation that Econ-students already differ from non-Econ ones at the very beginning of the their training. We argue that the difference can also be explained by second-order expectations afforded by the economist's stereotype and by the adherence to such stereotype