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Does economics make you selfish?

Author

Listed:
  • Daniele Girardi

    (Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA))

  • Sai Madhurika Mamunuru

    (Department of Economics, Whitman College (USA))

  • Simon D Halliday

    (School of Economics, University of Bristol (UK))

  • Samuel Bowles

    (Santa Fe Institute (USA))

Abstract

It is widely held that studying economics makes you more selfish and politically conservative. We use a difference-in-differences strategy to disentangle the causal impact of economics education from selection effects. We estimate the effect of four different intermediate microeconomics courses on students’ experimentally elicited social preferences and beliefs about others, and policy opinions. We find no discernible effect of studying economics (whatever the course content) on self-interest or beliefs about others’ self-interest. Results on policy preferences also point to little effect, except that economics may make students somewhat less opposed to highly restrictive immigration policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniele Girardi & Sai Madhurika Mamunuru & Simon D Halliday & Samuel Bowles, 2021. "Does economics make you selfish?," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2021-07, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ums:papers:2021-07
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    File URL: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/econ_workingpaper/303/
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    Cited by:

    1. Espín, Antonio M. & Correa, Manuel & Ruiz-Villaverde, Alberto, 2022. "Economics students: Self-selected in preferences and indoctrinated in beliefs," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    endogenous preferences; economics education; social preferences; self-interest; generosity; altruism; reciprocity; microeconomics; teaching;
    All these keywords.

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