Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-f9bf7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-15T16:11:06.931Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trait perceptions influence economic out-group bias: lab and field evidence from Vietnam

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Tomomi Tanaka  and
Colin F. Camerer
Tomomi Tanaka*
Affiliation:
World Bank, Washington, DC, USA
Colin F. Camerer*
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91106, USA
*
[email protected]
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Group favoritism is typically directed toward in-group members and against out-group members, but these cross-group effects often vary. Little is known about why group effects on economic choices vary. We use a survey method developed in social psychology to measure stereotyped attitudes of one group toward another. These attitudes are then associated with prosociality in five experimental games (also using an unusual amount of individual-level sociodemographic control). We present evidence from an artificial field experiment of a majority group with high status (Vietnamese) exhibiting no disfavoritism toward a lower-status out-group (Khmer) and typical disfavoritism to a second out-group (Chinese). Both Vietnamese and Chinese groups see the Khmer as warm but incompetent, attitudes which seem to activate empathy rather than contempt. The results suggest that measuring between-group stereotype attitudes can be used to predict the sign of cross-group favoritism in other natural settings.

Keywords

Behavioral economicsStereotypesField experimentsTrustGroup affiliationIngroup-outgroup
Type
Original Paper
Information
Experimental Economics , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , September 2016 , pp. 513 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 Economic Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-015-9452-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

References

Abbink, K, Brandts, J, Herrmann, B, & Orzen, H (2010). Intergroup conflict and intra-group punishment in an experimental contest game. American Economic Review, 100(1), 420–447. 10.1257/aer.100.1.420CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akerlof, GA, & Kranton, RE (2000). Economics and identity. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(3), 715–753. 10.1162/003355300554881CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akerlof, GA, & Kranton, RE (2005). Identity and the economics of organizations. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(1), 9–32. 10.1257/0895330053147930CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Akerlof, GA, & Kranton, RE (2010). Identity economics: How our identities shape our work, wages, and well-being, Princeton: Princeton University Press 10.1515/9781400834181CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashraf, N, Bohnet, I, & Piankov, N (2006). Decomposing trust and trustworthiness. Experimental Economics, 9(3), 193–208. 10.1007/s10683-006-9122-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bahry, D, & Wilson, RK (2004). Trust in transitional societies: Experimental results from Russia, Chicago: American Political Science Association.Google Scholar
Ball, S, Eckel, C, Grossman, PJ, & Zame, W (2001). Status in markets. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(1), 161–188. 10.1162/003355301556374CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, M, Cassar, A, Chytilová, J, & Henrich, J (2012). Warfare experience during ontogeny increases egalitarian and parochial motivations, Maastricht: United Nations University 1–58.Google Scholar
Bernhard, H, Fischbacher, U, & Fehr, E (2006). Parochial altruism in humans. Nature, 442(7105), 912–915. 10.1038/nature04981CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bertrand, M, & Mullainathan, S (2004). Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A field experiment on labor market discrimination. American Economic Review, 94(4), 991–1013. 10.1257/0002828042002561CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornhorst, F, Ichino, A, Kirchkamp, O, Schlag, KH, & Winter, E (2010). Similarities and differences when building trust: the role of cultures. Experimental Economics, 13(3), 260–283. 10.1007/s10683-010-9240-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouckaert, J, & Dhaene, G (2004). Inter-ethnic trust and reciprocity: Results of an experiment with small businessmen. European Journal of Political Economy, 20(4), 869–886. 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2003.08.006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brañas-Garza, P (2006). Poverty in dictator games: Awakening solidarity. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 60(3), 306–320. 10.1016/j.jebo.2004.10.005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchan, NR, Brewer, MB, Grimalda, G, Wilson, RK, Fatas, E, & Foddy, M (2011). Global social identity and global cooperation. Psychological Science, 22(6), 821–828. 10.1177/0956797611409590CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burns, J (2006). Racial stereotypes, stigma and trust in post-apartheid South Africa. Economic Modelling, 23(5), 805–821. 10.1016/j.econmod.2005.10.008CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camerer, C, & Weigelt, K (1988). Experimental tests of a sequential equilibrium reputation model. Econometrica, 56(1), 1–36. 10.2307/1911840CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, M. R., & Castillo, M. (2003). The economic impacts of altruism, trust and reciprocity: An experimental approach to social capital. http://eml.berkeley.edu/~webfac/bardhan/e271_sp03/carter.pdf.Google Scholar
Charness, G, & Grosskopf, B (2001). Relative payoffs and happiness: an experimental study. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 45(3), 301–328. 10.1016/S0167-2681(01)00148-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charness, G, & Rabin, M (2002). Understanding social preferences with simple tests. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 117(3), 817–869. 10.1162/003355302760193904CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charness, G, Rigotti, L, & Rustichini, A (2007). Individual behavior and group membership. American Economic Review, 24, 1340–1352. 10.1257/aer.97.4.1340CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Y, & Li, SX (2009). Group identity and social preferences. American Economic Review, 99, 431–457. 10.1257/aer.99.1.431CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yan, Li, SX, Liu, TX, & Shih, M (2014). Which hat to wear? Impact of natural identities on coordination and cooperation. Games and Economic Behavior, 29, 58–86. 10.1016/j.geb.2013.12.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croson, R, & Gneezy, U (2009). Gender differences in preferences. Journal of Economic Literature, 47(2), 448–474. 10.1257/jel.47.2.448CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cutler, DM, Glaeser, EL, & Vigdor, JL (1999). The rise and decline of the American ghetto. Journal of Political Economy, 107(3), 455–506. 10.1086/250069CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Darity, WA, & Mason, PL (1998). Evidence on discrimination in employment: Codes of color, codes of gender. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(2), 63–90. 10.1257/jep.12.2.63CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, CC, Fatas, E, & Wilson, R (2010). Cooperation and status in organizations. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 12(4), 737–762. 10.1111/j.1467-9779.2010.01472.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, CC, & Wilson, RK (2007). Social learning in coordination games: does status matter?. Experimental Economics, 10(3), 317–329. 10.1007/s10683-007-9185-xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, E, & Camerer, CF (2007). Social neuroeconomics: The neural circuitry of social preferences. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11(10), 419–427. 10.1016/j.tics.2007.09.002CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fehr, E, & Fischbacher, U (2004). Third-party punishment and social norms. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(2), 63–87. 10.1016/S1090-5138(04)00005-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, E, Goette, L, & Zehnder, C (2009). A behavioral account of the labor market: The role of fairness concerns. Annual Review of Economics, 1(1), 355–384. 10.1146/annurev.economics.050708.143217CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, E, Hoff, K, & Kshetramade, M (2008). Spite and development. The American Economic Review, 98(2), 494–499. 10.1257/aer.98.2.494CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, E, & Schmidt, KM (1999). A theory of fairness, competition, and cooperation. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(3), 817–868. 10.1162/003355399556151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fershtman, C, & Gneezy, U (2001). Discrimination in a segmented society: An experimental approach. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(1), 351–377. 10.1162/003355301556338CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fiske, ST, Cuddy, AJC, & Glick, P (2007). Universal dimensions of social cognition: Warmth, then competence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 11, 77–83. 10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiske, ST, Cuddy, AJ, Glick, P, & Xu, J (2002). A model of (often mixed) stereotype content: Competence and warmth respectively follow from perceived status and competition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(6), 878–902. 10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.878CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friesen, J, Arifovic, J, Wright, SC, Ludwig, A, Giamo, L, & Baray, G (2012). Ethnic identity and discrimination among children. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(6), 1156–1169. 10.1016/j.joep.2012.08.003CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaeser, EL, Laibson, DI, Scheinkman, JA, & Soutter, CL (2000). Measuring trust. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 115(3), 811–846. 10.1162/003355300554926CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goette, L, Huffman, D, & Meier, S (2006). The impact of group membership on cooperation and norm enforcement: Evidence using random assignment to real social groups. American Economic Review, 96(2), 212–216. 10.1257/000282806777211658CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guiso, L, Sapienza, P, & Zingales, L (2009). Cultural biases in economic exchange?. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(3), 1095–1131. 10.1162/qjec.2009.124.3.1095CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Habyarimana, J., Humphreys, M., Posner, D., & Weinstein, J. (2006). Social focal points. Georgetown University. http://web.mit.edu/posner/www/papers/social%20focal%20points,%20Mar%2005.pdf.Google Scholar
Hoff, K, Kshetramade, M, & Fehr, E (2011). Caste and punishment: The legacy of caste culture in norm enforcement. The Economic Journal, 121, F449–F475. 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02476.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holm, HJ, & Danielson, A (2005). Tropic trust versus nordic trust: Experimental evidence from tanzania and sweden. Economic Journal, 115(503), 505–532. 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2005.00998.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katz, D, & Braly, K (1933). Racial stereotypes of one hundred college students. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 28, 280–290. 10.1037/h0074049CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kumru, C, & Vesterlund, L (2010). The effect of status on voluntary contribution. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 12(4), 709–735. 10.1111/j.1467-9779.2010.01471.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phung, DT, & Phong, N (2006). Vietnam household living standard survey (VHLSS), 2002 and 2004: Basic information, Hanoi: General Statistics Office.Google Scholar
Riedl, K, Jensen, K, Call, J, & Tomasello, M (2012). No third-party punishment in chimpanzees. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(37), 14824–14829. 10.1073/pnas.1203179109CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ruff, C., & Fehr, E. (2014). The neurobiology of rewards and values in social decision making. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(8), 549–562.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sobel, J (2002). Can we trust social capital?. Journal of Economic Literature, 40(1), 139–154. 10.1257/jel.40.1.139CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, H (1970). Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientific American, 223(5), 96–102. 10.1038/scientificamerican1170-96CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanaka, T. & Camerer, C.F. (2012). The limits of economic in-group bias: Lab and field favoritism toward low-status Khmer in Vietnam. Working paper.Google Scholar
Todorov, A, Mandisodza, AN, Goren, A, & Hall, C (2005). Inferences of competence from faces predict election outcomes. Science, 308(5728), 1623–1626. 10.1126/science.1110589CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tricomi, E, Rangel, A, Camerer, CF, & O’Doherty, JP (2010). Neural evidence for inequality-averse social preferences. Nature, 463(7284), 1089–1091. 10.1038/nature08785CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van der Merwe, WG, & Burns, J (2008). What’s in a name? Racial identity and altruism in post-apartheid South Africa. South African Journal of Economics, 76(2), 266–275. 10.1111/j.1813-6982.2008.00174.xCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yamagishi, T, Mifune, N, Li, M, Hashimoto, H, Horita, Y, Miura, A, Inukai, K, Tanida, S, Kiyonari, T, Takagishi, H, & Simunovic, D (2013). Is behavioral pro-sociality game-specific? Pro-social preference and expectations of pro-sociality. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 120(2), 260–271. 10.1016/j.obhdp.2012.06.002CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yinger, J (1998). Evidence on discrimination in consumer markets. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(2), 23–40. 10.1257/jep.12.2.23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Tanaka and Camerer supplementary material

Tanaka and Camerer supplementary material
Download Tanaka and Camerer supplementary material(File)
File 3.1 MB