Giving According to Agreement
CentER Discussion Paper Nr. 2020-035
37 Pages Posted: 21 Feb 2021
Date Written: December 21, 2020
Abstract
We propose an axiom that we call Agreement to deal with changing preferences and derive its empirical implications. The resulting revealed preference condition generalises GARP when preferences are different but preferences in one context are informative about preferences in another context. We apply this idea to a social choice experiment, where a player can respond to another player being kind or relatively unkind. We find that people have a consistent preferences for each case, but that preferences depend on the kindness of the other player, and that subjects act in line with Agreement. We thus provide support for modelling and interpreting responses to the intentions of other players as a preference for reciprocity.
Keywords: social preferences, reciprocity, nonparametric methods
JEL Classification: D11, C14, D91
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation