We build a model where introspection matters - i.e., people rationally form expectations about others using the lens of their own attitudes. Since trustworthy individuals are more "optimistic" about people than opportunists, they are less afraid to engage in market-based exchanges, where they may be vulnerable to opportunistic behavior. Within this context, we use an indirect evolutionary approach to endogenize preferences for trustworthiness. In some cases, the material rewards from greater market participation may outweigh the material disadvantages from foregoing lucrative expropriation opportunities. This implies that trustworthiness may be evolutionary stable in the long-term. Although stricter enforcement (that limits the scope for opportunistic behavior) does in some cases favor preferences for trustworthy behavior (crowding in) we show that the opposite (crowding out) may also occur. Our findings are consistent with recent empirical evidence.
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Find related papers by JEL classification: D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, and Operations Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks Economic Anthropology D82 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Asymmetric and Private Information C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
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References listed on IDEAS 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.:
Butler, Jeffrey V. & Giuliano, Paola & Guiso, Luigi, 2009.
"The Right Amount of Trust,"
IZA Discussion Papers
4416, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
[Downloadable!]
Other versions:
Jeffrey Butler & Paola Giuliano & Luigi Guiso, 2009.
"The Right Amount of Trust,"
NBER Working Papers
15344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
[Downloadable!] (restricted)