Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/175269 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
cege Discussion Papers No. 340
Publisher: 
University of Göttingen, Center for European, Governance and Economic Development Research (cege), Göttingen
Abstract: 
We conducted a laboratory experiment to examine how honesty depends on social distance. Participants cast dice and reported the outcomes to allocate money between themselves and fellow students or the socially distant experimenter. They could lie about outcomes to earn more money. We found that dishonesty increases with social distance. However, responsiveness to social distance depends on personal preferences about inequity and honesty as a moral value. We observed selfish "black lies" but not altruistic "white lies" (outcomes were not understated to reduce inequality). Our results suggest that the reduction of social distance can promote honesty in social interactions.
Subjects: 
cheating
honesty
social distance
experiment
JEL: 
C91
D63
D64
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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