Group Dishonesty: Beliefs, Incentives, and Complicity
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Series
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Speaker(s)Eugenio Verrina (Sciences Po, France)
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FieldBehavioral Economics
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LocationUniversity of Amsterdam, room E5.22
Amsterdam -
Date and time
November 30, 2023
16:00 - 17:15
Abstract
Dishonest behavior often takes place in groups. We investigate two key aspects that define the interconnection within a group — the material connection (incentives) and the psychological connection (complicity) — and study how they influence the relationship between beliefs and dishonesty. Our first main result shows that dishonesty increases (decreases) in the belief that the counterpart is dishonest when incentives are complements (substitutes). Our second main result reveals that complicity does not greatly influence the relationship between beliefs and behavior. We only find a level effect of complicity under substitute incentives for subject with high lying costs. We conclude that beliefs and incentives strongly shape group dishonesty, while the psychological connection due to complicity plays a minor role.