Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Altruism and Reciprocity?

Cevat Giray Aksoy, Antonio Cabrales, Mathias Dolls, Ruben Durante () and Lisa Windsteiger ()
Additional contact information
Ruben Durante: Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Lisa Windsteiger: Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance

No 14411, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We conduct a large-scale survey experiment in nine European countries to study how priming a major crisis (COVID-19), common economic interests, and a shared identity influences altruism, reciprocity and trust of EU citizens. We find that priming the COVID-19 pandemic increases altruism and reciprocity towards compatriots, citizens of other EU countries, and non-EU citizens. Priming common European values also boosts altruism and reciprocity but only towards compatriots and fellow Europeans. Priming common economic interests has no tangible impact on behaviour. Trust in others is not affected by any treatment. Our results are consistent with the parochial altruism hypothesis, which asserts that because altruism arises out of inter-group conflict, humans show a tendency to favor members of their own groups.

Keywords: COVID-19; Europe; altruism; reciprocity; survey experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 H51 H53 H55 O52 P52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 49 pages
Date: 2021-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-evo, nep-exp and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Altruism and Reciprocity? (2021)
Working Paper: Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Altruism and Reciprocity? (2021)
Working Paper: Calamities, Common Interests, Shared Identity: What Shapes Altruism and Reciprocity? (2021)
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