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Well-functioning groups enforce social norms that restrain opportunism, but the social structure of a society may encourage or inhibit norm enforcement. Here we study how the exogenous assignment to different positions in an extreme social hierarchy - the caste system - affects individuals'...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013157041
Formal or informal institutions have long been adopted by societies to protect against opportunistic behavior. However, we know very little about how these institutions are chosen and their impact on behavior. We experimentally investigate the demand for different levels of institutions that...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012833245
We investigate the determinants of giving in a lab-in-the-field experiment with large stakes. Study participants in urban Mozambique play dictator games where their counterpart is the closest person to them outside their household. Dictators share more with counterparts when they have the option...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013074832
There is now an extensive literature on "gift exchange" showing that when principals and agents can trade "gifts …" (rewards that should not emerge in a competitive equilibrium), exchange becomes more efficient. However, it is not obvious how … gift exchange should be organized if the principal's goal is to increase the performance of a reciprocal agent …
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012957473
Precipitated by rapid globalization, rising inequality, population growth, and longevity gains, social protection programs have been on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the last three decades. However, the introduction of public benefits could displace informal mechanisms...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012838469
Volunteering plays a prominent role in the charitable provision of goods and services, yet we know relatively little about why people engage in such prosocial acts. The list of possible motivations is long, but recent research has focused on altruism, reputational concerns, and material...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012753831
We develop a formula for the optimal size of a joint savings association between individuals who share the same financial goal and who can save towards that goal at the same rate. Our motivating example and the core of our analysis is a Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA). We measure...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10014081869
The inclination of individuals to improve their performance when it lags behind that of others with whom they naturally compare themselves can be harnessed to optimize the individuals' effort in work and study. In a given set of individuals, we characterize each individual by his relative...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013250257
Institutions are an important means for fostering prosocial behaviors, but in many contexts their scope is limited and they govern only a subset of all socially desirable acts. We use a laboratory experiment to study how the presence and nature of an institution that enforces prosocial behavior...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012955037
We develop a method to estimate domain-specific risk. We apply the method to sickness insurance by fitting a utility function at the individual level, using European survey data on life satisfaction. Three results stand out. First, relative risk aversion increases with income. Second, marginal...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012918219