Public Discourse and Socially Responsible Market Behavior

Björn Bartling, Vanessa Valero, Roberto A. Weber and Lan Yao

American Economic Review, 2024, vol. 114, issue 10, 3041-74

Abstract: We investigate the causal impact of public discourse on socially responsible market behavior. Across three laboratory experiments, having market participants engage in public discourse generally increases market social responsibility. These positive impacts are robust to variation in several characteristics of the discourse. We provide evidence that discourse strengthens beliefs that others support socially responsible exchange. However, relaxing requirements to engage in discourse sharply reduces its effectiveness. Our findings suggest that campaigns encouraging discussion of appropriate market behavior can have sizable impacts on addressing inefficiencies due to market failures but that policies encouraging broad public engagement may be important.

JEL-codes: C92 D62 D83 D91 M14 P36 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Working Paper: Public discourse and socially responsible market behavior (2024)
Working Paper: Public Discourse and Socially Responsible Market Behavior (2020)
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DOI: 10.1257/aer.20201361

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