Market Participation and Moral Decision-Making: Experimental Evidence from Greenland

A-Tier
Journal: Economic Journal
Year: 2023
Volume: 133
Issue: 650
Pages: 537-581

Authors (2)

Gustav Agneman (Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapl...) Esther Chevrot-Bianco (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

The relationship between market participation and moral values is the object of a long-lasting debate in economics, yet field evidence is mainly based on cross-cultural studies. We conduct rule-breaking experiments in 13 villages across Greenland (N = 543), where stark contrasts in market participation within villages allow us to examine the relationship between market participation and moral decision-making, holding village-level factors constant. First, we document a robust positive association between market participation and moral behaviour towards anonymous others. Second, market-integrated participants display universalism in moral decision-making, whereas non-market participants make more moral decisions towards co-villagers. A battery of robustness tests confirms that the behavioural differences between market and non-market participants are not driven by socioeconomic variables, childhood background, cultural identities, kinship structure, global connectedness and exposure to religious and political institutions.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:oup:econjl:v:133:y:2023:i:650:p:537-581.
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24