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Monetary incentives and the contagion of unethical behavior

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  • Benoît Le Maux

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • David Masclet

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations [Montréal, Canada] = Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations [Montréal, Canada])

  • Sarah Necker

    (FAU - Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg = University of Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Abstract

We examine how monetary incentives and information about others' dishonesty affect lying decisions and whether these two dimensions interact with each other. Our experiment consists of a repeated cheating game where we vary the monetary incentives (Low, High, and Very High) and information about others' dishonesty (With or Without information). We find that dishonesty decreases when payoffs are Very High. Information has only a weak positive effect on average. Conditioning on beliefs, we find that those who overestimate (underestimate) cheating reduce (increase) dishonesty. Information and payoffs do not interact with each other.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît Le Maux & David Masclet & Sarah Necker, 2024. "Monetary incentives and the contagion of unethical behavior," Post-Print hal-04700382, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04700382
    DOI: 10.1007/s40881-024-00175-5
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04700382v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Chapkovski, Philipp, 2022. "Unintended consequences of corruption indices: an experimental approach," MPRA Paper 112598, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Simon Dato & Eberhard Feess & Petra Nieken, 2022. "Lying in Competitive Environments: A Clean Identification of Behavioral Impacts," CESifo Working Paper Series 9861, CESifo.
    3. Dato, Simon & Feess, Eberhard & Nieken, Petra, 2024. "Lying in competitive environments: Identifying behavioral impacts," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    4. Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Lisa Windsteiger, 2022. "The Propagation of Unethical Behaviours: Cheating Responses to Tax Evasion," CESifo Working Paper Series 10144, CESifo.
    5. Loessl, Victor von & Bühren, Christoph & Frank, Björn & Wetzel, Heike & Wiederhold, Elina, 2024. "Would you lie about your mother's birthday? A new online dishonesty experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    6. Claire Mouminoux, 2023. "Can misfortune lead to dishonesty?," Rationality and Society, , vol. 35(3), pages 293-310, August.
    7. Fries, Tilman, 2024. "Signaling motives in lying games," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 338-376.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Laboratory experiment; Cheating; Monetary incentives; Information; Lying cost; C91; D03; D78;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation

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