A Cross-Country Study of Preferences for Choice Autonomy

Jana Freundt and Holger Herz

No 12238, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We establish the existence of intrinsic preferences for choice autonomy, defined as a preference for own choice in the absence of any instrumental value of choice, in large general population samples in nine countries using a novel preference elicitation tool. We find that such preferences are widespread, but also reveal stark differences across countries. Within countries, individuals who place a higher value on self-reliance and personal identity exhibit stronger intrinsic preferences for choice autonomy. In our small cross-country sample, we find suggestive evidence that differences are correlated with power distance, but not with measures of individualism, and that differences are predictive of managerial decentralization across countries.

Keywords: autonomy; individualism; preferences; culture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm
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