| Authors |
|
| Publication date |
2008
|
| Series |
Discussion papers, 08-28
|
| Number of pages |
21
|
| Publisher |
Copenhagen: Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen
|
| Organisations |
-
Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) - Amsterdam School of Economics Research Institute (ASE-RI)
|
| Abstract |
We ran an experiment with children to study the development of honesty with age. We asked each child to toss a fair coin in private and to record the outcome (white or black) in a paper sheet. We rewarded only those who reported white. We found a fraction of reported whites signifi cantly larger than 50%, uniformly across age groups. This suggests that some children cheat when cheating is profi table and they are not observed. In a second treatment we told children not to cheat. This reminder reduced the probability of reporting white by 18% on average, and signifi cantly more in girls.
|
| Document type |
Working paper
|
| Published at |
http://www.econ.ku.dk/english/research/publications/wp/2008/0828.pdf
|
|
Permalink to this page
|