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Living in Two Neighborhoods: Social Interactions in the Lab

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Author Info
Falk, Armin (IZA Bonn, University of Bonn, CESifo and CEPR)
Fischbacher, Urs (University of Zurich)
Gächter, Simon () (University of St. Gallen, CESifo and IZA Bonn)

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Abstract

Field evidence suggests that people belonging to the same group often behave similarly, i.e., behaviour exhibits social interaction effects. We conduct an experiment that avoids the identification problem present in the field. Our novel design feature is that each subject simultaneously is a member of two randomly assigned and identical groups where only members (‘neighbours’) are different. In both groups subjects contribute to a public good. We speak of social interactions if the same subject at the same time makes group-specific contributions that depend on their respective neighbours’ contribution. We find that a majority of subjects exhibits social interaction effects.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1381.

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Length: 28 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2004
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1381

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Related research
Keywords: social interactions; identification; experiments;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
H41 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Public Goods
K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion

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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. C. Mónica Capra & Lei Li, 2006. "Conformity in contribution games: gender and group effects," Emory Economics 0601, Department of Economics, Emory University (Atlanta). [Downloadable!]
  2. Alexandre Mas & Enrico Moretti, 2006. "Peers at Work," NBER Working Papers 12508, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Benno Torgler & Bruno S. Frey & Clevo Wilson, 2007. "Environmental and Pro-Social Norms: Evidence from 30 Countries," Working Papers 2007.84, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
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  4. Antonio Cabrales & Gary Charness, 2008. "Optimal Contracts with Team Production and Hidden Information: An Experiment," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 11-03, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Bruno S. Frey & Stephan Meier, 2004. "Social Comparisons and Pro-social Behavior: Testing "Conditional Cooperation" in a Field Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(5), pages 1717-1722, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Benno Torgler, 2007. "The Evolution of Tax Morale in Modern Spain," School of Economics and Finance Discussion Papers and Working Papers Series 224, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, revised 12 Aug 2008. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Siegfried Berninghaus & Sven Fischer & Werner Güth, 2006. "Social Networks and Employment - An Experimental Analysis," Papers on Strategic Interaction 2006-31, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group. [Downloadable!]
  8. Erin Krupka & Roberto A. Weber, 2007. "The Focusing and Informational Effects of Norms on Pro-Social Behavior," IZA Discussion Papers 3169, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  9. Simon Gaechter, 2006. "Conditional cooperation: Behavioral regularities from the lab and the field and their policy implications," Discussion Papers 2006-03, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham. [Downloadable!]
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