Do Markets Promote Prosocial Behavior? Evidence from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample

Ellis Eff () and Malcolm M. Dow

No 200803, Working Papers from Middle Tennessee State University, Department of Economics and Finance

Abstract: Recent experimental games conducted by ethnographers (Henrich et al. 2004) have shown that groups with higher levels of market integration exhibit higher levels of prosocial behavior. In order to see whether these results are confirmed in a broader ethnographic sample, this paper draws from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample variables measuring the degree to which a culture seeks to inculcate generosity, honesty, and trust. Using these as dependent variables, models are developed where market-related variables are among the independent variables. The paper uses the methodology developed by Dow (2007) to correct for Galton’s problem, and uses multiple imputation to deal with the problem of missing data. The results fail to confirm a systematic association between generalized prosocial behavior and market integration.

Keywords: prosocial behavior; multiple imputation; market integration; Galton’s problem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F16 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-evo, nep-hap and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mts:wpaper:200803

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