A Theory of Injunctive Norms

Kimbrough, Erik O.; Vostroknutov, Alexander

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3566589

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A Theory of Injunctive Norms

48 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2020 Last revised: 26 Apr 2023

See all articles by Erik O. Kimbrough

Erik O. Kimbrough

Chapman University - The George L. Argyros College of Business and Economics; Chapman University - Smith Institute for Political Economy and Philosophy

Alexander Vostroknutov

Maastricht University

Date Written: April 24, 2023

Abstract

Recent thinking in behavioral economics suggests that evidence of other-regarding and context-dependent social behavior can be reconciled by assuming that individuals, apart from self-interest, are motivated to follow injunctive norms. Such norms capture shared beliefs about the social appropriateness of allocations in a choice set. We propose an axiomatic model where such norms arise endogenously from the set of available outcomes. The model is rooted in a plausible moral psychology and provides an account of why behavior is other-regarding and why and how it varies with context.

Keywords: norms, experiments, social preferences

JEL Classification: C9, D9

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Kimbrough, Erik O. and Vostroknutov, Alexander, A Theory of Injunctive Norms (April 24, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3566589 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3566589