Of Morals, Markets and Mice: A Comment on Falk and Szech

Abstract

A recent experimental study by Falk and Szech (Science, 2013) concludes that "markets erode moral values". If this were true, economists, who have emphasized the efficiency enhancing effects of markets for centuries, would have to reconsider their judgments fundamentally. This would be no less than a revolution in normative economics. In this note we demonstrate that the claim made by Falk and Szech is unfounded and that their experimental results can be (and should be) interpreted in exactly the opposite way.

JEL Classification: D010, D030, D630