Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/300172 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Series/Report no.: 
Working Paper No. 2024-05
Publisher: 
Bar-Ilan University, Department of Economics, Ramat-Gan
Abstract: 
Many experimental studies report that economics students tend to act more selfishly than students of other disciplines, a finding that received widespread public and professional attention. Two main explanations that the existing literature offers for the differences found in the behavior between economists and non-economists are: (i) the selection effect, and (ii) the indoctrination effect. We offer an alternative, novel explanation: we argue that these differences can be explained by differences in the interpretation of the context. We test this hypothesis by conducting two social dilemma experiments in the US and Israel with participants from both economics and non-economics majors. In the experiments, participants face a tradeoff between profit maximization (market norm) and workers' welfare (social norm). We use priming to manipulate the cues that the participants receive before they make their decision. We find that when participants receive cues signaling that the decision has an economic context, both economics and non-economics students tend to maximize profits. When the participants receive cues emphasizing social norms, on the other hand, both economics and non-economics students are less likely to maximize profits. We conclude that some of the differences found between the decisions of economics and non-economics students can be explained by contextual cues.
Subjects: 
Selection
Indoctrination
Self-Interest
Market Norms
Social Norms
Economic Man
Rational Choice
Fairness
Experimental Economics
Laboratory Experiments
Priming
Economists vs. Non-Economists
JEL: 
A11
A12
A13
A20
B40
C90
C91
D01
D63
D91
P10
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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