Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/235403 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 9033
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Reporting private information is a key part of economic decision making. A recent literature has found that many people have a preference for honest reporting, contrary to usual economic assumptions. In this paper, we investigate whether preferences for honesty are malleable and what determines them. We experimentally measure preferences for honesty in a sample of children. As our main result, we provide causal evidence on the effect of the social environment by randomly enrolling children in a year-long mentoring programme. We find that, about four years after the end of the programme, mentored children are significantly more honest.
Subjects: 
honesty
lying
truth-telling
formation of preferences
experiments with children
JEL: 
C90
D90
D64
D82
H26
J13
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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