American Economic Review Vol. 100 No. 4 2010

Social Identity and Preferences

Daniel J. Benjamin¹; James J. Choi²; A. Joshua Strickland³

¹ Economics Department, 480 Uris Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, and National Bureau of Economic Research. · ² Yale School of Management, 135 Prospect Street, P.O. Box 208200, New Haven, CT 06520–8200, and National Bureau of Economic Research. · ³ Kirkland & Ellis LLP, 300 North LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60654.

Abstract

Social identities prescribe behaviors for people. We identify the marginal behavioral effect of these norms on discount rates and risk aversion by measuring how laboratory subjects' choices change when an aspect of social identity is made salient. When we make ethnic identity salient to Asian-American subjects, they make more patient choices. When we make racial identity salient to black subjects, non-immigrant blacks (but not immigrant blacks) make more patient choices. Making gender identity salient has no effect on intertemporal or risk choices.

DOI

10.1257/aer.100.4.1913

Volume

100

Issue

4

Pages

1913-1928

Language

en

Sources

openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

Cite

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