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Cooperation and discrimination within and across language borders: Evidence from children in a bilingual city

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Listed:
  • Silvia Angerer
  • Daniela Glätzle-Rützler
  • Philipp Lergetporer
  • Matthias Sutter

Abstract

We present experimental evidence from a bilingual city in Northern Italy on whether the language spoken by a partner in a prisoner’s dilemma game affects behavior and leads to discrimination. Running a framed field experiment with 828 six- to eleven-year old primary school children in the city of Meran, we find that cooperation generally increases with age, but that the gap between cooperation among in-group members and cooperation towards children speaking another language is considerable and increasing with age. This gap is due to both, in-group favoritism and language group discrimination.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Angerer & Daniela Glätzle-Rützler & Philipp Lergetporer & Matthias Sutter, 2015. "Cooperation and discrimination within and across language borders: Evidence from children in a bilingual city," ifo Working Paper Series 200, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ifowps:_200
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles

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