Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/238265 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
Working Papers in Economics and Statistics No. 2021-07
Publisher: 
University of Innsbruck, Research Platform Empirical and Experimental Economics (eeecon), Innsbruck
Abstract: 
Does market interaction influence morality? We study a particular angle of this classic question theoretically and experimentally. The novelty of our approach is to posit that people are motivated by reciprocity; an urge many argued affects humans. We scrutinize how this shapes interaction in treatments mimicking societies (autarky, barter, and market societies) that differ only as regards whether and how people trade. While many have argued that market interactions make people more selfish, our reciprocity-based theory suggests that market interaction on the contrary induces more pro-sociality. The experimental results are broadly (but not completely) consistent with the theoretical predictions. The results may also shed light on the development of morality and prosocial behavior over time, in particular with respect to episodes in history where the nature of commerce was transformed.
Subjects: 
Markets
morality
pro-sociality
reciprocity
kindness
autarky
barter
money
JEL: 
C92
D02
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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