Morals and markets
1Center for Economics and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. armin.falk@uni-bonn.de
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|May 11, 2013
Summary
Market interaction significantly reduces moral values, especially concerning harm to others. Experiments show people are more willing to harm in markets, with prices for life deteriorating in multilateral settings.
Area of Science:
- Social Sciences
- Ethics
- Experimental Economics
Background:
- A long-standing hypothesis suggests market interaction can erode moral values.
- Empirical evidence supporting this moral decay hypothesis has been limited.
- Understanding how markets influence ethical decision-making is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide controlled experimental evidence on the impact of market interaction on moral values.
- To investigate how market mechanisms affect the valuation of harm to third parties.
Main Methods:
- Controlled laboratory experiment comparing individual decisions to market interactions (bilateral and multilateral).
- Subjects faced a choice between saving a mouse's life or receiving monetary compensation.
- Moral choices were contrasted with morally neutral consumption decisions.
Main Results:
- Willingness to cause harm (kill the mouse) was significantly higher in both bilateral and multilateral market settings compared to individual decisions.
- In multilateral markets, the monetary value assigned to preserving life decreased substantially.
- Market institutions had minimal impact on decisions involving morally neutral consumption choices.
Conclusions:
- Market interaction demonstrably erodes moral considerations regarding harm to third parties.
- The intensity of market interaction (multilateral vs. bilateral) exacerbates the deterioration of moral values.
- Moral decay is specific to contexts involving harm, not general consumption choices.
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