Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/252039 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 9522
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
Guided by Bem's (1972) self-perception theory, we design an experiment to ask whether morally-motivated behaviour, e.g., charitable giving, is history-dependent. Using a popular policy nudge, the default option, we exogenously vary altruism "now" and show that giving "now" causes a 66%- 200% increase in the probability of giving "later"; that is, altruism begets altruism. We further show that, consistent with self-perception theory, the choice to behave altruistically "now", rather than the nudge itself, is the crucial element in the causal relationship. These findings are consistent with a model of positive path-dependence, which we interpret as moral consistency.
Subjects: 
altruism
nudge
moral consistency
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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