Does Studying Economics Inhibit Cooperation?

Robert Frank (), Thomas Gilovich and Dennis T. Regan

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1993, vol. 7, issue 2, 159-171

Abstract: In this paper we investigate whether exposure to the self-interest model commonly used in economics alters the extent to which people behave in self-interested ways. First, we report the results of several empirical studies—some our own, some by others—that suggest economists behave in more self-interested ways. By itself, this evidence does not demonstrate that exposure to the self-interest model causes more self-interested behavior, since it may be that economists were simply more self-interested to begin with, and this difference was one reason they chose to study economics. Second, we present preliminary evidence that exposure to the self-interest model does in fact encourage self-interested behavior.

JEL-codes: A11 A13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1993
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.7.2.159
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (418)

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