Peer Pressure in Work Teams : The effects of Inequity Aversion

Many empirical studies have shed light on the efficiency of peer pressure. I propose here to model peer pressure by incorporating in the utility function self centered inequity aversion. I find that opportunity for sufficiently inequity averse players to punish their peers, is effective in inducing others to cooperate. At the equilibrium, all players cooperate and punish any shirker since punishing is a way to reduce inequity. Contrary, nobody cooperates without peer pressure even if players are inequity averse.cooperation; fairness; inequity aversion; peer pressure; work teams

Does Contributing Sequentially Increase the Level of Cooperation in Public Goods Games ? An Experimental Investigation

We run a series of experiments in which subjects have to choose their level of contribution to a pure public good. Our design differs from the standard public good game with respect to the decision procedure. Instead of deciding simultaneously in each round, subjects are randomly ordered in a sequence which differs from round to round. We compare sessions in which subjects can observe the exact contributions from earlier decisions ("Sequential treatment with Information") to sessions in which subjects decide sequentially but cannot observe earlier contributions ("Sequential treatment without information"). Furthermore, we investigate the effect of group size on aggregate contributions. Our result indicate that contributing sequentially increases the level of contribution to the public good when subjects are informed about the contribution levels of lower ranked subjects. Moreover, we observe that earlier players in the sequence try to influence positively the contributions of subsequent decision makers in the sequence, by making a large contribution. Such behaviour is motivated by the belief that subsequent players will reciprocate by also making a large contribution.

Is the ebay feedback system really efficient ? an experimental study

The eBay Feedback Forum is claimed to be a crucial component of the success of eBay. Many empirical studies have found that this feedback system exerts a deterrent effect on the opportunistic behavior the Internet's anonymity may incite buyers and sellers to adopt. The feedback system in place on eBay is however far from being perfect and may be especially vulnerable to strategic ratings (or nonratings) that might reduce the informational content of feedback profiles. This article aims to examine the efficiency of the eBay feedback system, through a set of experiments based on the trust game. Our experimental design consists of four different treatments. The baseline treatment corresponds to a finite repeated simultaneous trust game. The second treatment, called “eBay rating” is identical to the baseline treatment except that we added a second stage in which the players have the opportunity of rating their partner. In this treatment, each participant is given the choice to either evaluate immediately or wait, knowing that only one rating will be accepted. The third treatment, called "Sequential rating" is identical to the “eBay rating” treatment, except that the order in which players evaluate one another is randomly determined by the computer. Finally in the fourth treatment, called “Simultaneous rating”, both players are required to make their rating decisions simultaneously. Our experimental results indicate that the eBay feedback system could be improved by either constraining partners to leave ratings simultaneously or by predetermining the rating sequence.

Peer Pressure in Work Teams : The effects of Inequity Aversion

Working Paper du GATE 2002-15Many empirical studies have shed light on the efficiency of peer pressure. I propose here to model peer pressure by incorporating in the utility function self centered inequity aversion. I find that opportunity for sufficiently inequity averse players to punish their peers, is effective in inducing others to cooperate. At the equilibrium, all players cooperate and punish any shirker since punishing is a way to reduce inequity. Contrary, nobody cooperates without peer pressure even if players are inequity averse.Plusieurs études empiriques ont mis en évidence l'efficacité des mécanismes de pression des pairs. Je propose ici de modéliser la pression des pairs en incorporant l'aversion à l'inégalité dans la fonction d'utilité des agents. Je montre que lorsque les agents sont suffisamment averses à l'inégalité, ils sont incités à sanctionner leurs pairs et cela accroît la coopération au sein de l'équipe. A l'équilibre, tous les agents coopèrent et punissent tout comportement déviant puisque sanctionner un passager clandestin permet de réduire l'inégalité des gains. A l'inverse, lorsque les agents n'ont pas la possibilité de sanctionner leurs pairs, les agents ne peuvent pas soutenir la coopération mêmes s'ils sont averses à l'inégalité

Punishment, Inequality and Emotions

Cooperation among people who are not related to each other is sustained by the availability of punishment devices which help enforce social norms (Fehr and Gächter, 2002). However, the rationale for costly punishment remains unclear. This paper reports the results of an experiment investigating inequality aversion and negative emotions as possible determinants of punishment. We compare two treatments of a public good game, one in which costly punishment reduces the immediate payoff inequality between the punisher and the target, and one in which it does not affect inequality. We show that while inequality-aversion prevents some subjects from punishing in the equal cost treatment, negative emotions are the primary motive for punishment. Results also indicate that the intensity of punishment increases with the level of inequality, and reduces earnings inequality over time.inequality aversion; negative emotions; free-riding; cooperation; experiment

Punishment, Inequality and Emotions

Cooperation among people who are not related to each other is sustained by the availability of punishment devices which help enforce social norms (Fehr and Gächter, 2002). However, the rationale for costly punishment remains unclear. This paper reports the results of an experiment investigating inequality aversion and negative emotions as possible determinants of punishment. We compare two treatments of a public good game, one in which costly punishment reduces the immediate payoff inequality between the punisher and the target, and one in which it does not affect inequality. We show that while inequality-aversion prevents some subjects from punishing in the equal cost treatment, negative emotions are the primary motive for punishment. Results also indicate that the intensity of punishment increases with the level of inequality, and reduces earnings inequality over time.cooperation ; experiment ; Free-Riding ; inequity aversion ; negative emotions

Punishment, inequality, and welfare : a public good experiment

This paper reports the results of an experiment that investigates the relationships between inequality and punishment. In particular, we analyze how inter-personal comparisons affect altruistic punishment behavior. In addition, we examine how punishment affects inequality over time. We compare two treatments of a two-stage public good game, one in which costly punishment reduces the immediate payoff inequality between the punisher and the target, and one in which it does not affect the current level of inequality. Our results indicate that subjects punish even when they cannot alter the current distribution of payoffs. We find however that in both treatments, the intensity of punishment increases in the level of inequality. Finally, despite its cost, we show that punishment improves welfare in association with a decrease in the level of inequality over time.public good experiment ; punishment ; inequality aversion ; free-riding ; welfare

Weak moral motivation leads to the decline of voluntary contributions

This paper provides a general framework that accounts for the decay of the average contribution observed in most experiments on voluntary contributions to a public good. Each player balances her material utility loss from contributing with her psychological utility loss of deviating from her moral ideal. The novel and central idea of our model is that people.s moral motivation is "weak": their judgement about what is the right contribution to a public good can evolve in the course of interactions, depending partly on observed past contributions and partly on an intrinsic "moral ideal". Under the assumption of weakly morally motivated agents, average voluntary contributions can decline with repetition of the game. Our model also explains other regularities observed in experiments, in particular the phenomenon of over-contributions compared to the Nash prediction and the so-called restart e¤ect, and it is compatible with the conditional cooperation hypothesis.

The economics of the telethon: leadership, reciprocity and moral motivation

We run a series of experiments in which subjects have to choose their level of contribution to a pure public good. The design differs from the standard public good game with respect to the decision procedure. Instead of deciding simultaneously in each round, subjects are randomly ordered in a sequence which differs from round to round. We compare sessions in which subjects can observe the exact contributions from earlier decisions ("sequential treatment with information") to sessions in which subjects decide sequentially but cannot observe earlier contributions ("sequential treatment without information"). The results indicate that sequentiality increases the level of contribution to the public good when subjects are informed about the contribution levels of lower ranked subjects while sequentiality alone has no effect on contributions. Moreover, we observe that earlier players try to influence positively the contributions of subsequent decision makers in the sequence, by making a large contribution. Such behaviour is motivated by the belief that subsequent players will reciprocate by also making a large contribution. We also discuss the effect of group size on aggregate contributions. Finally, we conceptualize a model where agents’ preferences incorporate a “weak” moral motivation element. The moral motivation is “weak” in the sense that contributors update their morally ideal level of contribution according to observed behaviours. This suggested qualification of rational contributors fits well with the patterns observed in the lab.

The Effect of Perfect Monitoring of Matched Income on Sales Tax Compliance: An Experimental Investigation

Noncompliance is a quantitatively important phenomenon that affects significantly revenue source for state governments. This phenomenon raises challenging questions about the determinants of tax reporting and also about the appropriate design of a tax system: how many resources should be devoted to auditing? This paper provides specific empirical insights using an experimental approach to measure the effects of systematic sales tax monitoring and the determinants of sales tax compliance. The results indicate that if perfect monitoring is instituted without other complementary policies, an increase in tax revenues is not the likely outcome. A successful policy aiming at reducing fiscal fraud might be a difficult task, once people have decided their equilibrium level of tax compliance. The reference-dependent effect observed in the data suggests that individuals will try to recover their losses following any policy changes even if it means taking more risks. Les revenus de plusieurs niveaux de gouvernements sont significativement altérés par la fraude fiscale. Découvrir les déterminants de la fraude fiscale est un défi important alors que ce phénomène pose en même temps la question du design du système de taxation. Combien de ressources devons-nous, par exemple, consacrer à l’audit? Cette recherche mobilisant l’économie expérimentale offre une analyse empirique sur les effets d’assurer systématiquement le contrôle de la taxe de vente et d’étudier les déterminants de s’acquitter du paiement de ce type de taxes. Les résultats indiquent que le contrôle parfait de la taxe de vente sans politiques complémentaires n’augmentent pas nécessairement les rentrées fiscales. Une politique efficace pour réduire la fraude fiscale s’avère une tâche difficile si les agents impliqués ont décidé d’un niveau d’équilibre de conformité dans le paiement de leurs taxes. Les données montrent que les participants tendent à recouvrer leurs pertes suite à un changement de politique fiscale même s’ils doivent prendre plus de risques pour y arriver.sales tax, perfect monitoring, experimental economics, reference-dependent effect., taxe de vente, fraude fiscale, économie expérimentale, politiques d’audit.