The effect of financial constraints on in-group bias: Evidence from rice farmers in Thailand

Suparee Boonmanunt and Stephan Meier

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2023, vol. 207, issue C, 96-109

Abstract: In-group bias can be detrimental for communities and economic development. We study the causal effect of financial constraints on in-group bias in prosocial behaviors – cooperation, norm enforcement, and sharing – among low-income rice farmers in rural Thailand, who cultivate and harvest rice once a year. We use a between-subjects design – randomly assigning participants to experiments either before harvest (more financially constrained) or after harvest. Farmers interacted with a partner either from their own village (in-group) or from another village (out-group). We find that in-group bias in cooperation and norm enforcement is not increased by financial constraints. By contrast, the results seem to suggest that in-group bias exists only after harvest, that is, when people are less financially constrained.

Keywords: Cooperation; Financial constraints; In-group bias; Lab-in-the-field experiment; Norm enforcement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D64 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Working Paper: The Effect of Financial Constraints on In-Group Bias: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Thailand (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:207:y:2023:i:c:p:96-109

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.01.012

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