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An Economic Anatomy of Culture: Attitudes and Behaviour in Inter- and Intra-National Ultimatum Game Experiments

Author

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  • Swee-Hoon Chuah

    (Nottingham University Business School)

  • Robert Hoffmann

    (Nottingham University Business School)

  • Martin Jones

    (Department of Economic Studies, University of Dundee Nethergate)

  • Geoffrey Williams

    (University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus)

Abstract

The processes by which culture influences economic variables need to be exposed in order for the concept to be a useful tool for prediction and policy formulation. We investigate the attitudes and experimental behaviour of Malaysian and UK subjects to shed light on the nature of culture and the mechanisms by which it affects economic behaviour. Attitudinal dimensions of culture which significantly influence experimental game play are identified. This approach is offered towards a method to suitably quantify culture for economic analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Swee-Hoon Chuah & Robert Hoffmann & Martin Jones & Geoffrey Williams, 2005. "An Economic Anatomy of Culture: Attitudes and Behaviour in Inter- and Intra-National Ultimatum Game Experiments," Discussion Papers 2005-11, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notcdx:2005-11
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    Cited by:

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    2. Sun-Ki Chai & Dolgorsuren Dorj & Katerina Sherstyuk, 2018. "Cultural Values and Behavior in Dictator, Ultimatum, and Trust Games: An Experimental Study," Research in Experimental Economics, in: Experimental Economics and Culture, volume 20, pages 89-166, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    3. Kenju Akai & Robert J. Netzer, 2009. "Trust and Reciprocity among International Groups: Experimental Evidence from Austria and Japan," ISER Discussion Paper 0737r, Institute of Social and Economic Research, The University of Osaka, revised Aug 2010.
    4. Ainhoa Jaramillo Gutiérrez & Nikolaos Georgantzis & Aurora García Gallego & Miguel Ginés Vilar, 2007. "Cultural And Risk-Related Determinants Of Gender Differences In Ultimatum Bargaining," Working Papers. Serie AD 2007-08, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    5. Simon Gaechter & Benedikt Herrmann & Christian Thoeni, 2010. "Culture and Cooperation," Discussion Papers 2010-09, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    6. M. Leroch & C. Reggiani & G. Rossini & E. Zucchelli, 2012. "Religious attitudes and home bias: theory and evidence from a pilot study," Working Papers wp811, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    7. Güth, Werner & Kocher, Martin G., 2014. "More than thirty years of ultimatum bargaining experiments: Motives, variations, and a survey of the recent literature," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 396-409.
    8. Chuah, Swee-Hoon & Gächter, Simon & Hoffmann, Robert & Tan, Jonathan H.W., 2023. "Who discriminates? Evidence from a trust game experiment across three societies," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Kuroda, Michael & Li, Jieran & Shachat, Jason & Wei, Lijia & Zhu, Bochen, 2022. "An experimental study of intra- and international cooperation: Chinese and American play in the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    10. Chesney, Thomas & Chuah, Swee-Hoon & Hoffmann, Robert, 2009. "Virtual world experimentation: An exploratory study," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 618-635, October.
    11. Swee-Hoon Chuah & Robert Hoffmann & Jeremy Larner, 2014. "Elicitation effects in a multi-stage bargaining experiment," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 17(2), pages 335-345, June.
    12. Thorsten Chmura, 2011. "Response Modes And Coordination In A Traffic Context, An Experimental Comparison Of Chinese And German Participants," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 56(04), pages 489-501.
    13. Chuah, Swee-Hoon & Hoffmann, Robert & Larner, Jeremy, 2014. "Chinese values and negotiation behaviour: A bargaining experiment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 1203-1211.
    14. Marc Piazolo, 2007. "Gerechtigkeit siegt über Eigennutz Ein Ultimatum Bargaining Game anhand von WM-Tickets," Proceedings-5th International Conference on Management, Enterprise and Benchmarking (MEB 2007),, Óbuda University, Keleti Faculty of Business and Management.
    15. Swee Hoon Chuah & Robert Hoffmann & Bala Ramasamy & Jonathan H. W. Tan, 2016. "Is there a Spirit of Overseas Chinese Capitalism?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 47(4), pages 1095-1118, December.
    16. Horak, Sven, 2013. "Cross-cultural experimental economics and indigenous management research: Issues and contributions," Working Papers on East Asian Studies 92/2013, University of Duisburg-Essen, Institute of East Asian Studies IN-EAST.
    17. Chuah, Swee Hoon & Gächter, Simon & Hoffmann, Robert & Tan, Jonathan H. W., 2015. "Religion, Discrimination and Trust," IZA Discussion Papers 9616, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Simon Gaechter & Benedikt Herrmann & Christian Thöni, 2010. "Culture and Cooperation," CESifo Working Paper Series 3070, CESifo.
      • Simon Gaechter & Benedikt Herrmann & Christian Thoeni, 2010. "Culture and Cooperation," Discussion Papers 2010-09, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
      • Simon Gaechter & Benedikt Herrmann & Christian Thoeni, 2010. "Culture and Cooperation," Discussion Papers 2010-09, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    19. Fengwei Sun & Xiaoxiao Wang & Quanlan Yi & Mengliang Wu, 2015. "Does Culture Matter to Pro-Social Behavior? Evidence from a Cross-Ethnic Lab Experiment," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 7(6), pages 94-110.
    20. Weiwei Xia & Xiaohan Guo & Jun Luo & Hang Ye & Yefeng Chen & Shu Chen & Weisen Xia, 2023. "Religious affiliations of Chinese people and prosocial behavior: evidence from field experiments," Review of Economic Design, Springer;Society for Economic Design, vol. 27(3), pages 473-504, September.
    21. M. Leroch & C. Reggiani & G. Rossini & E. Zucchelli, 2012. "Religious attitudes and home bias: theory and evidence from a pilot study," Working Papers wp811, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    22. Hoffmann, Robert & Coate, Bronwyn, 2022. "Fame, What’s your name? quasi and statistical gender discrimination in an art valuation experimentc," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 184-197.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    culture; ultimatum game; attitudes; world values survey; experiments;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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