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  5. Social Identity and Preferences

Social Identity and Preferences

  • Daniel J. Benjamin
  • James J. Choi
  • A. Joshua Strickland
American Economic Review
vol. 100, no. 4, September 2010
(pp. 1913-28)
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Abstract

Social identities prescribe behaviors for people. We identify the marginal behavioral effect of these norms on discount rates and risk aversion by measuring how laboratory subjects' choices change when an aspect of social identity is made salient. When we make ethnic identity salient to Asian-American subjects, they make more patient choices. When we make racial identity salient to black subjects, non-immigrant blacks (but not immigrant blacks) make more patient choices. Making gender identity salient has no effect on intertemporal or risk choices. (JEL D81, J15, J16, Z13 )

Citation

Benjamin, Daniel J., James J. Choi, and A. Joshua Strickland. 2010. "Social Identity and Preferences." American Economic Review, 100 (4): 1913-28. DOI: 10.1257/aer.100.4.1913

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D81 Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
  • J15 Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
  • J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
  • Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification