SELF-ESTEEM, MORAL CAPITAL, AND WRONGDOING

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Dal Bo, Ernesto; Tervio, Marko
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; Aalto University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1542-4766
• DOI: 10.1111/jeea.12012
• 发表日期: 2013
• 关键词: confidence; PUNISHMENT; MODEL

摘要

We present an infinite-horizon planner-doer model of moral standards, where individuals receive random temptations (such as bribe offers) and must decide which to resist. Individual actions depend both on conscious deliberation and on a type reflecting unconscious drives. Temptations yield consumption value, but confidence in being the type of person who resists temptations yields self-esteem. We identify conditions for individuals to build an introspective reputation for goodness (moral capital) and for good actions to lead to a stronger disposition to do good. Bad actions destroy moral capital and lock-in further wrongdoing. Economic shocks that result in higher temptations have long-lasting effects on wrongdoing. We show how optimal deterrence can change under endogenous moral costs and how wrongdoing can be compounded as high temptation activities attract individuals with low moral capital.