This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

What sustains social norms and how they evolve? The case of tipping

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Ofer H. Azar (Northwestern University)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The paper presents a model of the evolution of social norms. When a norm is costly to follow and people do not derive benefits from following it except for avoiding social disapproval, the norm erodes over time. Tip percentages, however, increased over the years, suggesting that people derive benefits from tipping, such as impressing others and improving their self-image as being generous and kind. The implications to the norm of not cooperating with new workers who accept lower wages are discussed; the model suggests that incumbent workers have reasons to follow this norm in addition to avoiding social disapproval.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://129.3.20.41/eps/othr/papers/0309/0309001.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Others with number 0309001.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: 02 Sep 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpot:0309001

Note: Type of Document - PDF
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://129.3.20.41

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (EconWPA).

Related research
Keywords: Tipping; Social norms; Evolution; Conformist transmission; Conformity;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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.:
  1. Ernst Fehr & Simon Gaechter, . "Fairness and Retaliation: The Economics of Reciprocitys," IEW - Working Papers iewwp040, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - IEW. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Lynn, Michael & Grassman, Andrea, 1990. "Restaurant tipping: an examination of three 'rational' explanations," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 169-181, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Sethi, Rajiv & Somanathan, E, 1996. "The Evolution of Social Norms in Common Property Resource Use," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 766-88, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Ofer H. Azar, 2003. "The implications of tipping for economics and management," Others 0309002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  5. Herbert Gintis, 2001. "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Altruism: Gene-Culture Coevolution, and the Internalization of Norms," Working Papers 01-10-058, Santa Fe Institute.
  6. Theodore C. Bergstrom, 2002. "Evolution of Social Behavior: Individual and Group Selection," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(2), pages 67-88, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Assar Lindbeck & Dennis J. Snower, 2001. "Insiders versus Outsiders," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 165-188, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Fehr, Ernst & Falk, Armin, 2002. "Psychological Foundations of Incentives," IZA Discussion Papers 507, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. George A. Akerlof, 1978. "A theory of social custom, of which unemployment may be one consequence," Special Studies Papers 118, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    Other versions:
  10. Sethi, Rajiv, 1996. "Evolutionary stability and social norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 113-140, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Elster, Jon, 1989. "Social Norms and Economic Theory," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 99-117, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Ofer H. Azar, 2003. "The Social Norm of Tipping: A Review," Others 0309006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  13. Lynn, Michael & McCall, Michael, 2000. "Gratitude and gratuity: a meta-analysis of research on the service-tipping relationship," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 203-214. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Herbert Gintis, 2001. "The Puzzle of Prosociality," Working Papers 01-10-059, Santa Fe Institute.
  15. Kahneman, Daniel & Knetsch, Jack L & Thaler, Richard, 1986. "Fairness as a Constraint on Profit Seeking: Entitlements in the Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(4), pages 728-41, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Bernheim, B Douglas, 1994. "A Theory of Conformity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(5), pages 841-77, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. Samuel Bowles, 1998. "Endogenous Preferences: The Cultural Consequences of Markets and Other Economic Institutions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 36(1), pages 75-111, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Sethi, Rajiv & Somanathan, E., 2003. "Understanding reciprocity," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 1-27, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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. Ofer Azar, 2008. "Strategic Behavior and Social Norms in Tipped Service Industries," Topics in Economic Analysis & Policy, Berkeley Electronic Press, vol. 8(1), pages 1778-1778. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Ofer H. Azar, 2005. "Who Do We Tip and Why? An Empirical Investigation," Labor and Demography 0502005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Azar, Ofer H., 2002. "Evolution of social norms with heterogeneous preferences: A general model and an application to the academic review process," MPRA Paper 4482, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Khalil, Elias, 2004. "Integrity, Shame and Self-Rationalization," Vassar College Department of Economics Working Paper Series 55, Vassar College Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Ofer H. Azar, 2003. "The Social Norm of Tipping: A Review," Others 0309006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  6. Ofer H. Azar, 2005. "Why pay extra? Tipping and the importance of social norms and feelings in economic theory," Microeconomics 0503005, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Edward Cartwright & Amrish Patel, 2008. "Public Goods, Social Norms and Naive Beliefs," Studies in Economics 0807, Department of Economics, University of Kent. [Downloadable!]
  8. Azar, Ofer H., 2005. "Incentives and Service Quality in the Restaurant Industry: The Tipping – Service Puzzle," MPRA Paper 4457, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2006. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. David Flath, 2009. "Why Do We Tip Taxicab Drivers?," ISER Discussion Paper 0738, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University. [Downloadable!]
  10. Azar, Ofer H., 2006. "Tipping, firm strategy, and industrial organization," MPRA Paper 4485, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  11. Ofer H. Azar, 2005. "The Social Norm of Tipping: Does it Improve Social Welfare?," Others 0503013, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Azar, Ofer H. & Tobol, Yossi, 2006. "Tipping as a strategic investment in service quality: An optimal-control analysis of repeated interactions in the service industry," MPRA Paper 4393, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. Ofer H. Azar, 2003. "The History of Tipping - From Sixteenth-Century England to United States in the 1910s," Economic History 0309001, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Citation analysis on IDEAS includes online papers that are freely accessible and whose text could be automatically analyzed, currently about 210000 papers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-6.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.