Articlegreen2018

At the Root of the North–South Cooperation Gap in Italy: Preferences or Beliefs?

Maria Bigoni · Stefania Bortolotti · Marco Casari · Diego Gambetta

47 citations0/0 files storedThe Economic Journal

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Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies Italy: Economic History and Contemporary Issues Culture, Economy, and Development Studies

Abstract

The sharp gap in development between the North and the South of Italy represents a paradigmatic case of persistent within-country disparities. The evidence suggests that this gap could depend on a difference in the ability to cooperate. We investigate experimentally three possible sources of this difference, and find that Northerners and Southerners share the same pro-social preferences, but differ both in their belief about cooperativeness and in the aversion to social risk, respectively, more pessimistic and stronger among Southerners; intervention or events that reduced pessimistic beliefs should directly boost cooperation.

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References

1993Making democracy work: civic traditions in modern Italy 2007z-Tree: Zurich toolbox for ready-made economic experiments 1994Making Democracy Work 2005Cognitive Reflection and Decision Making 1959The Moral Basis of a Backward Society.2004The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development 2001Are people conditionally cooperative? Evidence from a public goods experiment 2015Subject pool recruitment procedures: organizing experiments with ORSEE

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