Awards: A View from Psychological Economics

University of Zurich Institute for Empirical Research in Economics Working Paper No. 357

27 Pages Posted: 25 Jan 2008

See all articles by Bruno S. Frey

Bruno S. Frey

CREMA; University of Basel

Susanne Neckermann

University of Zurich - Department of Economics

Date Written: January 2008

Abstract

Awards in the form of orders, decorations, prizes, and titles are ubiquitous in monarchies and republics, private organizations, not-for-profit, and profit-oriented firms. This paper argues that awards present a unique combination of different stimuli and that they are distinct and unlike other monetary and non-monetary rewards. Despite their relevance in all areas of life awards have not received much scientific attention. We propose to study awards and present results on a vignette experiment that quantifies and isolates the effects of different award characteristics such as the publicity associated with winning an award. Further, employing a unique data set, we demonstrate that there are substantial differences in the intensity of usage of awards across countries.

Keywords: Awards, compensation, incentives, principal-agent, honors and distinctions

JEL Classification: C93, J33, M52

Suggested Citation

Frey, Bruno S. and Neckermann, Susanne, Awards: A View from Psychological Economics (January 2008). University of Zurich Institute for Empirical Research in Economics Working Paper No. 357, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1087043 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1087043

Bruno S. Frey (Contact Author)

CREMA ( email )

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Zurich, CH 8008
Switzerland
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University of Basel ( email )

Peter Merian-Weg 6
Basel, 4002
Switzerland

Susanne Neckermann

University of Zurich - Department of Economics ( email )

Zuerich, 8006
Switzerland