Social Identity and Preferences

Daniel J. Benjamin, James Jinwoo Choi and A. Joshua Strickland

No 13309, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Social identities prescribe behaviors for people. We identify the marginal behavioral effect of these norms on discount rates and risk aversion by measuring how laboratory subjects’ choices change when an aspect of social identity is made salient. When we make ethnic identity salient to Asian-American subjects, they make more patient choices. When we make racial identity salient to black subjects, non-immigrant blacks (but not immigrant blacks) make more patient choices. Making gender identity salient has no effect on intertemporal or risk choices.

JEL-codes: C91 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-evo, nep-exp, nep-ltv, nep-soc and nep-upt
Date: 2007-08
Note: AG LS
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