HONESTY ON THE STREETS: A FIELD STUDY ON NEWSPAPER PURCHASING

Gerald J. Pruckner · Rupert Sausgruber

167 citations0/0 files storedJournal of the European Economic Association

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Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies Ethics in Business and Education Psychology of Social Influence

Abstract

Many publishers use an honor system for selling newspapers in the street. We conducted a field experiment to study honesty in this market, finding that a moral reminder increases the level of honesty in payments, whereas the same message has no effect on whether one is honest. Reminding customers of the legal norm has no effect. We argue that these results are consistent with a preference for honesty, based on an internalized social norm. Auxiliary evidence suggests that the moral message remains effective when it is posted for longer periods, and even when it is removed again.

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References

1957A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 2017A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance 2004Social Influence: Compliance and Conformity 2006Incentives and Prosocial Behavior 2008The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance 2000A Fine is a Price 2005Deception: The Role of Consequences 1990Employee theft as a reaction to underpayment inequity: The hidden cost of pay cuts.

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2013TESTING ENFORCEMENT STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD: THREAT, MORAL APPEAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION 2017WHY DO WE LIE? A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE DISHONESTY LITERATURE 2014Scientific misbehavior in economics 2018Moral Incentives in Credit Card Debt Repayment: Evidence from a Field Experiment 2015Deterring Cheating in Online Environments 2013Separating Will from Grace: An experiment on conformity and awareness in cheating

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