【主 题】Monetary Incentives as Normative Messengers
【报告人】肖尔特（教授, 澳大利亚莫纳什大学）
【时 间】2024年4月2日周二14:00-15:30
【地 点】经济学院701会议室
【语 言】英文
【摘 要】Monetary incentives, such as punishment and reward, are commonly used to encourage prosocial behavior. While previous research has primarily focused on how incentives alter the monetary outcomes of actions, this talk discusses two experimental studies that explore the crucial yet often overlooked aspect of their role in communicating social norms. In the first study, we show that, in contrast to the standard economic theory prediction, match subsidies significantly increase donation only when individuals cannot avoid the donation request. Our data are consistent with the predictions of the norm-expression mechanism of matching: a match promotes giving by increasing the psychological costs of deviating from the giving norm. However, this effect can be circumvented if the ask can be avoided. In the second study, we investigate whether the punisher's motives can help understand the previous mixed finding of the effectiveness of punishment in disciplining individual self-interest. We show that punishment reduces the social stigma of selfish behavior when it is self-serving (i.e., potentially benefits the punisher). However, this adverse effect is not observed when the punishment is other-regarding (i.e., potentially benefits a third party). The findings highlight the importance of the punisher's motives in the expressive function of punishment.
【报告人简介】Erte Xiao is a professor in the Department of economics at Monash University. She conducts research to understand the motivational and behavioral consequences of extrinsic incentives and social preferences on decisions. She is currently the Asia-Pacific Vice President of the Economic Science Association. She serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization and is on the editorial boards of Experimental Economics, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, and The Leadership Quarterly.
