IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ris/aiccon/2016_145.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Happiness and Preferences in a Legality Social Dilemma

Author

Listed:
  • Becchetti, Leonardo

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

  • Corrado, Germana

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

  • Pelligra, Vittorio

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

  • Rossetti, Fiammetta

    (Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit)

Abstract

We investigate players’ preferences in a multiplayer prisoner’s dilemma by comparing results from a direct (satisfaction based) and an indirect (choice based) approach. Both approaches provide strong evidence of preference heterogeneity, with players who cooperate above median being less affected in their choice by monetary payoffs vis-à-vis the public good component. The combination of a legality frame plus a conformity information design reduces further the relative preference (satisfaction) for the non-cooperative choice for such players. Our findings support the hypothesis that (part of the) players have, in addition to the standard self-interest component, an other-regarding preference argument that is further satisfied in the legality frame plus conformity design.

Suggested Citation

  • Becchetti, Leonardo & Corrado, Germana & Pelligra, Vittorio & Rossetti, Fiammetta, 2016. "Happiness and Preferences in a Legality Social Dilemma," AICCON Working Papers 145-2016, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:aiccon:2016_145
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.aiccon.it/pubblicazione/145-happiness-and-preferences-legality-social-dilemma/
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gary Charness & Matthew Rabin, 2002. "Understanding Social Preferences with Simple Tests," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 817-869.
    2. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868.
    3. L. Becchetti & V. Pelligra & S.F. Taurino, 2015. "Other-Regarding Preferences and Reciprocity: Insights from Experimental Findings and Satisfaction Data," Working Paper CRENoS 201514, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    4. Becchetti, Leonardo & Salustri, Francesco, 2015. "The Vote With the Wallet as a Multiplayer Prisoner's Dilemma," AICCON Working Papers 141-2015, Associazione Italiana per la Cultura della Cooperazione e del Non Profit.
    5. Fischbacher, Urs & Gachter, Simon & Fehr, Ernst, 2001. "Are people conditionally cooperative? Evidence from a public goods experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 397-404, June.
    6. Leonardo Becchetti & Vittorio Pelligra & Fiammetta Rossetti, 2016. "The Corporate Legality Game. A Lab Experiment on The Impact of Policies, Frames and Information," CEIS Research Paper 390, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 11 Jun 2016.
    7. Cox, James C., 2004. "How to identify trust and reciprocity," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 260-281, February.
    8. Bohnet, Iris & Zeckhauser, Richard, 2004. "Trust, risk and betrayal," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 467-484, December.
    9. Urs Fischbacher & Simon Gachter, 2010. "Social Preferences, Beliefs, and the Dynamics of Free Riding in Public Goods Experiments," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 541-556, March.
    10. Andreoni, James, 1989. "Giving with Impure Altruism: Applications to Charity and Ricardian Equivalence," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1447-1458, December.
    11. Andreoni, James, 1990. "Impure Altruism and Donations to Public Goods: A Theory of Warm-Glow Giving?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(401), pages 464-477, June.
    12. Axel Ockenfels & Gary E. Bolton, 2000. "ERC: A Theory of Equity, Reciprocity, and Competition," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(1), pages 166-193, March.
    13. Carpenter, Jeffrey P., 2004. "When in Rome: conformity and the provision of public goods," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 395-408, September.
    14. Rabin, Matthew, 1993. "Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1281-1302, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Leonardo Becchetti & Germana Corrado & Vittorio Pelligra & Fiammetta Rossetti, 2016. "Happiness and Preferences in a Legality Social Dilemma: Comparing the Direct and Indirect Approach," CEIS Research Paper 372, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 25 Mar 2016.
    2. Becchetti, Leonardo & Corrado, Germana & Pelligra, Vittorio & Rossetti, Fiammetta, 2020. "Satisfaction and preferences in a legality social dilemma: Does corporate social responsibility impact consumers’ behaviour?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 483-502.
    3. Vittorio Pelligra & Alejandra Vásquez, 2020. "Empathy and socially responsible consumption: an experiment with the vote-with-the-wallet game," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 383-422, November.
    4. Leonardo Becchetti & Vittorio Pelligra & Fiammetta Rossetti, 2016. "The Corporate Legality Game. A Lab Experiment on The Impact of Policies, Frames and Information," CEIS Research Paper 390, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 11 Jun 2016.
    5. L. Becchetti & V. Pelligra & S.F. Taurino, 2015. "Other-Regarding Preferences and Reciprocity: Insights from Experimental Findings and Satisfaction Data," Working Paper CRENoS 201514, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    6. Kim, Jeongbin & Putterman, Louis & Zhang, Xinyi, 2022. "Trust, Beliefs and Cooperation: Excavating a Foundation of Strong Economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    7. Leonardo Becchetti & Pierluigi Conzo & Giacomo Degli Antoni, 2015. "Public disclosure of players’ conduct and common resources harvesting: experimental evidence from a Nairobi slum," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 45(1), pages 71-96, June.
    8. Leonardo Becchetti & Francesco Salustri, 2019. "The Vote with the Wallet Game: Responsible Consumerism as a Multiplayer Prisoner’s Dilemma," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-22, February.
    9. Simon Gaechter, 2014. "Human Pro-Social Motivation and the Maintenance of Social Order," CESifo Working Paper Series 4729, CESifo.
    10. Krasteva, Silvana & Saboury, Piruz, 2021. "Informative fundraising: The signaling value of seed money and matching gifts," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    11. Thorsten Chmura & Christoph Engel & Markus Englerth, 2013. "Selfishness As a Potential Cause of Crime. A Prison Experiment," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2013_05, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    12. Boosey, Luke A., 2017. "Conditional cooperation in network public goods experiments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 108-116.
    13. Marco Vincenzi, 2023. "Mapping the empirical relationship between environmental performance and social preferences: Evidence from macro data," ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2023(1), pages 85-102.
    14. Luigi Butera & John A. List, 2017. "An Economic Approach to Alleviate the Crises of Confidence in Science: With an Application to the Public Goods Game," NBER Working Papers 23335, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Kurt A. Ackermann & Ryan O. Murphy, 2019. "Explaining Cooperative Behavior in Public Goods Games: How Preferences and Beliefs Affect Contribution Levels," Games, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-34, March.
    16. Priyodorshi Banerjee & Sujoy Chakravarty, 2021. "Dictator choice and causal attribution of recipient endowment," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 351-373, December.
    17. Kamas, Linda & Preston, Anne, 2012. "Distributive and reciprocal fairness: What can we learn from the heterogeneity of social preferences?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 538-553.
    18. Leonardo Becchetti & Francesco Salustri & Pasquale Scaramozzino, 2018. "Nudging and Environmental Corporate Responsibility: A Natural Experiment," CEIS Research Paper 426, Tor Vergata University, CEIS, revised 03 Apr 2018.
    19. Martijn J. van den Assem & Dennie van Dolder & Richard H. Thaler, 2012. "Split or Steal? Cooperative Behavior When the Stakes Are Large," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(1), pages 2-20, January.
    20. Crawford, Ian & Harris, Donna, 2018. "Social interactions and the influence of “extremists”," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 238-266.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Analysis of Collective Decision-Making; Corruption; Laboratoty Experiment; Legality Game; Redistribution; Conformity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ris:aiccon:2016_145. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Paolo Venturi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aiccoea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.