Age and the Development of Trust and Reciprocity

37 Pages Posted: 22 Feb 2004

See all articles by Matthias Sutter

Matthias Sutter

Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods

Martin G. Kocher

University of Vienna

Date Written: December 2003

Abstract

We examine the degree of trust and reciprocity in an experimental trust game with 662 participants from six different age groups, ranging from 8 year old primary school children to retired persons in their late sixties. Although both trust and reciprocity have been identified as fundamental pillars for smooth and efficient economic interactions, economic research has devoted surprisingly little attention to their development with age. Our results provide clear evidence that trust in anonymous partners increases almost linearly from early childhood to early adulthood, but stays constant afterwards. Reciprocity prevails in all age groups, although its degree also seems to increase with age.

Keywords: Trust, reciprocity, age, development, experiment

JEL Classification: C72, C91

Suggested Citation

Sutter, Matthias and Kocher, Martin G., Age and the Development of Trust and Reciprocity (December 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=480184 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.480184

Matthias Sutter

Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods ( email )

Kurt-Schumacher-Str. 10
D-53113 Bonn, 53113
Germany

Martin G. Kocher (Contact Author)

University of Vienna ( email )

Bruenner Strasse 72
Vienna, Vienna 1090
Austria

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
449
Abstract Views
4,101
Rank
129,238
PlumX Metrics