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    Research Topic B

    Social norms, ethics, and the origin of behavior

    Ethical and social concerns play an important role in markets as they can influence decisions and affect the functioning of markets. For example, consumers who care about maintaining a good image might buy ethical but more expensive products and may refrain from questionable behaviors, such as tax avoidance or corruption. Social concerns can also affect cognition when subjects filter information such that it aligns with their views or interests. The view that certain transactions are repugnant, e.g., the sale of human organs and prostitution, limits the scope of markets.  

    Brañas-Garza, Pablo/Molis, Elena/Neyse, Levent (2021): “Exposure to Inequality May Cause Under-Provision of Public Goods. Experimental Evidence.” In: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Vol. 92, Art. 101542, 1-10.

    Danz, David/Engelmann, Dirk/Kübler, Dorothea (2022): “Do Legal Standards Affect Ethical Concerns of Consumers?” In: European Economic Review, Vol. 144, Article 104044, 1-12.

    Erkut, Hande (2022): “Social norms and preferences for generosity are domain dependent.” In: Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 131, 121–140.

    Erkut, Hande (2020): “Incentivized measurement of social norms using coordination games.” In: Analyse & Kritik, Vol. 42(1), 97-106.

    Fossen, Frank M./Neyse, Levent/Johannesson, Magnus/Dreber, Anna (2022): “2D:4D and Self-Employment. A Preregistered Replication Study in a Large General Population Sample.” In: Entrepreneurship theory and practice - ET&P, Vol. 46, No. 1, S. 21-43.

    Gneezy, Uri/Saccardo, Silvia/Serra-Garcia, Marta/Veldhuizen, Roel van (2020): “Bribing the Self.” In: Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 120, 311-324.

    Neyse, Levent/Johannesson, Magnus/Dreber, Anna (2021): “2D:4D Does Not Predict Economic Preferences. Evidence From a Large, Representative Sample.” In: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Vol. 185, 390-401.

    Seres, G., Balleyer, A. H., Cerutti, N., Danilov, A., Friedrichsen, J., Liu, Y., & Süer, M. (2021): “Face masks increase compliance with physical distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic”. In: Journal of the Economic Science Association, Vol. 7(2), 139-158.

    Stüber, Robert (2020): “The Benefit of the Doubt. Willful Ignorance and Altruistic Punishment.” In: Experimental Economics, Vol. 23(3), 848-872.

    For the study of these themes, see also the bridging project ‘Meritocratic beliefs, motivated beliefs, and goal dis/engagement: Allocation of study places as a natural experiment’ and the completed Leibniz SAW project 'Market Design by Public Authorities.’ Moreover, the work on the limits of markets and social norms is related to the Excellence Cluster “Contestations of the Liberal Script.”