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Why do people keep their promises? An overview of strategic commitment

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  • Miranda del Corral

Abstract

Strategic commitments, such as promises and threats, pose several problems to the standard model of economic rationality: first, they can only arise when there is an incentive to free-ride; second, they need to be credible in order to manipulate the others' behaviour; third, once the commitment has succeeded, it is no longer in the agent's self-interest to fulfil her commitment. Why, then, do people keep their promises (and threats)? This paper reviews the literature concerning the problem of commitment within the scope of pro-sociality and cooperation, and examines two mechanisms that enable credibility and trust: reputation and social emotions. ***** Los compromisos estratégicos, tales como las promesas y las amenazas, son problemáticos para el modelo clásico de racionalidad económica: solo surgen cuando existe un incentivo para gorronear, necesitan ser creíbles para manipular el comportamiento de los demás, y una vez que esto sucede, su cumplimiento no es la mejor opción para el agente. ¿Por qué, entonces, cumple la gente sus promesas y amenazas? Este artículo ofrece una revisión bibliográfica del problema del compromiso desde la perspectiva de la prosocialidad y la cooperación, relacionándolo con la capacidad de la reputación y de las emociones sociales de generar credibilidad y confianza.

Suggested Citation

  • Miranda del Corral, 2015. "Why do people keep their promises? An overview of strategic commitment," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000093:012718
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Strategic commitment; economic rationality; pro-sociality; cooperation; social dilemmas;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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