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Incorporating conditional morality into economic decisions

Author

Listed:
  • David Masclet

    (UR - Université de Rennes, CIRANO - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations [Montréal, Canada] = Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis on Organizations [Montréal, Canada])

  • David L. Dickinson

    (Appalachian State University - UNC - University of North Carolina System, Chapman University, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics)

Abstract

We present a theoretical framework of individual-decision making that incorporates both moral motivations and social influence into the utility function. The main idea of the paper is that individuals face a trade-off between their material individual interests and their desire to follow moral obligation. In our model, we assume that moral motivation is weak or conditional in the sense that it may be influenced by others' actions. Specifically, in our framework one's moral obligation is a combination of two main components: an autonomous component and a social component that captures the influence of others. Our theoretical framework is able to explain many stylized results commonly observed in the literature and suggests a different mechanism to explain economic behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • David Masclet & David L. Dickinson, 2024. "Incorporating conditional morality into economic decisions," Post-Print hal-04721460, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04721460
    DOI: 10.1007/s11238-024-10000-4
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Dickinson, David L., 2025. "Dark versus light personality types and moral choice," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    3. Benoît Le Maux & David Masclet & Sarah Necker, 2024. "Monetary incentives and the contagion of unethical behavior," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 10(2), pages 213-231, December.
    4. Levati, M. Vittoria & Nardi, Chiara, 2023. "Letting third parties who suffer from petty corruption talk: Evidence from a collusive bribery experiment," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Dickinson, David L. & Masclet, David, 2023. "Unethical decision making and sleep restriction: Experimental evidence," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 484-502.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • B3 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals
    • D6 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics
    • D9 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics

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