Publication:
Spite and Development

dc.contributor.authorFehr, Ernst
dc.contributor.authorHoff, Karla
dc.contributor.authorKshetramade, Mayuresh
dc.date.accessioned2012-05-30T21:45:08Z
dc.date.available2012-05-30T21:45:08Z
dc.date.issued2008-05
dc.description.abstractIn a wide variety of settings, spiteful preferences would constitute an obstacle to cooperation, trade, and thus economic development. This paper shows that spiteful preferences - the desire to reduce another's material payoff for the mere purpose of increasing one's relative payoff - are surprisingly widespread in experiments conducted in one of the least developed regions in India (Uttar Pradesh). In a one-shot trust game, the authors find that a large majority of subjects punish cooperative behavior although such punishment clearly increases inequality and decreases the payoffs of both subjects. In experiments to study coordination and to measure social preferences, the findings reveal empirical patterns suggesting that the willingness to reduce another's material payoff - either for the sake of achieving more equality or for the sake of being ahead - is stronger among individuals belonging to high castes than among those belonging to low castes. Because extreme social hierarchies are typically accompanied by a culture that stresses status-seeking, it is plausible that the observed social preference patterns are at least partly shaped by this culture. Thus, an exciting question for future research is the extent to which different institutions and cultures produce preferences that are conducive or detrimental to economic development.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/05/9452412/spite-development
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/6718
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper No. 4619
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectCASTES
dc.subjectCOLLECTIVE ACTION
dc.subjectCOLLECTIVE ACTION PROBLEMS
dc.subjectCOMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
dc.subjectCONTRACT ENFORCEMENT
dc.subjectCULTURAL DIFFERENCES
dc.subjectDEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectEQUILIBRIUM
dc.subjectEXPECTED RETURNS
dc.subjectEXPECTED UTILITY
dc.subjectFREE RIDERS
dc.subjectFUTURE RESEARCH
dc.subjectINEQUALITY
dc.subjectINFORMAL AGREEMENTS
dc.subjectINTERNATIONAL BANK
dc.subjectINVESTMENT DECISIONS
dc.subjectLAND OWNERSHIP
dc.subjectMACROECONOMICS
dc.subjectMARGINAL COST
dc.subjectPARENTS
dc.subjectPAYOFF
dc.subjectPAYOFFS
dc.subjectPRIVATE PARTIES
dc.subjectPUBLIC GOOD
dc.subjectSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectSOCIAL GROUPS
dc.subjectSOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
dc.subjectTRADING
dc.subjectTRUSTEE
dc.subjectUTILITY FUNCTION
dc.subjectVILLAGE
dc.subjectVILLAGES
dc.subjectWILLINGNESS TO PAY
dc.titleSpite and Developmenten
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crosscuttingsolutionareaGender
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/05/9452412/spite-development
okr.globalpracticeSocial, Urban, Rural and Resilience
okr.globalpracticeMacroeconomics and Fiscal Management
okr.globalpracticeFinance and Markets
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-4619
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000158349_20080519085930
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum9452412
okr.identifier.reportWPS4619
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2008/05/19/000158349_20080519085930/Rendered/PDF/wps4619.pdfen
okr.region.administrativeSouth Asia
okr.region.countryIndia
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Access to Finance
okr.topicEconomic Theory and Research
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress
okr.topicFinance and Financial Sector Development::Debt Markets
okr.topicGender::Gender and Social Development
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth
okr.unitDevelopment Research Group (DECRG)
okr.volume1 of 1
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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