On the Roots of the Intrinsic Value of Decision Rights: Evidence from France and Japan

Bartling et al (2014) found that Swiss individuals attach an economically meaningful intrinsic value to make a decision by themselves rather than delegating it to another person. We refine their analysis in order to disentangle how much of such value stems from (i) a preference for independence from others, (ii) a desire for power, or (iii) a preference for self-reliance, and conduct a cross-cultural comparison between France and Japan. Our findings suggest that (i) Japanese and French individuals intrinsically value decision rights beyond their instrumental benefit, that (ii) this positive value is greater for French than Japanese individuals, and that (iii) self-reliance is the only rationale behind the intrinsic value of decision rights in both France and Japan. These results bring new insights into the roots of the preference for being in control, which can be relevant for institutional design.