Do people intervene to make others behave prosocially?

B-Tier
Journal: Games and Economic Behavior
Year: 2021
Volume: 128
Issue: C
Pages: 58-72

Authors (2)

Ackfeld, Viola (not in RePEc) Ockenfels, Axel (Universität zu Köln)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We experimentally investigate people's willingness to intervene in others' decision-making in order to promote a charitable donation. We find that only a minority of those subjects who would donate themselves enforce the donation by banning the selfish choice from the decision-maker's choice menu. Bans are more acceptable if they are implemented only after the decision-makers could choose between the selfish and the prosocial option themselves. Also, many subjects decide against offering decision-makers a monetary incentive to switch from the selfish to the prosocial choice. We discuss potential hypotheses about underlying motivations for the (non-)usage of interventions, with a special focus on the hypothesis that interventions to promote prosocial choice are more acceptable the more they respect the autonomy of others.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:gamebe:v:128:y:2021:i:c:p:58-72
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-26