American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Morally Motivated Self-Regulation
American Economic Review
vol. 100,
no. 4, September 2010
(pp. 1299–1329)
Abstract
Self-regulation is the private provision of public goods and private redistribution. This paper examines the scope of self-regulation motivated by altruistic moral preferences that are reciprocal and stronger the closer are citizens in a socioeconomic distance. The focus is on the role of organizations in increasing self-regulation by mitigating free-rider problems. Social label and certification organizations can expand the scope of self-regulation but not beyond that with unconditional altruism. Enforcement organizations expand the scope of self-regulation farther, and for-profit enforcement is more aggressive than nonprofit enforcement. Enforcement through social pressure imposed by NGOs also expands the scope of self-regulation. (JEL D64, H41, L51)Citation
Baron, David P. 2010. "Morally Motivated Self-Regulation." American Economic Review, 100 (4): 1299–1329. DOI: 10.1257/aer.100.4.1299JEL Classification
- D64 Altruism
- H41 Public Goods
- L51 Economics of Regulation