Altruism and Spite in Games

项目名称：利他主义和恶意在日常生活和实验经济环境中都很常见。本研究开发了简单的偏好模型，可以定量解释利他主义和怨恨，并探讨了这些偏好在经济理论和实践中的后果。在经济学实验中，有许多模型可以解释利他主义和恶意行为的定性特征；从本质上说，观察到的是存在异质性，有些人表现得无私，有些人表现得恶意。此外，我们观察到更多的利他主义和怨恨，因为他们的成本降低了。然而，并不是所有的模型都能解释实验中观察到的定量特征：特别是最简单的线性效用模型不能解释最后通牒博弈实验的结果，因为接受出价的群体似乎比提出出价的群体更具恶意。我们的研究结果表明，一个简单的具有异质性参与者的信号线性模型，其中利他主义的程度取决于其他参与者的利他程度，可以定量地解释各种实验。本研究开发了可以解释实验数据的模型，并使用这些模型来理解利他主义和恶意对经济环境的影响。我考虑的问题包括福利改革和慈善捐赠、歧视、商业组织和犯罪行为。*福利的一个替代方案是政府配套基金的慈善捐赠。如果“暖光”效应占主导地位，那么捐赠者可能不太关心他们捐赠的影响，私有化系统不一定比公共福利系统更有效。*研究歧视的一个关键问题是可能鼓励或阻止恶意行为的制度安排类型。*制度在鼓励或阻止恶意和利他主义方面的作用也是研究商业组织的关键。从历史上看，这类文献主要关注信息的交换，而不是员工士气的问题。哪些制度安排更容易或更不容易造成员工破坏？哪些安排能鼓励员工内化公司的目标？*在犯罪行为的研究中，尊重法律的问题对于解释国家之间的差异很重要。利他主义和恶意的平衡程度可能是解释这些差异的一个重要变量。

Project Title: Altruism and Spite in Games Project Abstract Altruism and spite are common both in everyday life and in experimental economic settings. This research develops simple models of preferences that can give a quantitative explanation of altruism and spite, and explores the consequences of these preferences in economic theory and practice. There are many models that can explain the qualitative features of altruism and spite in economics experiments; essentially what is observed is that there is heterogeneity, with some individuals acting altruistically and other spitefully. Moreover, we observe more altruism and spite as their cost is diminished. However, not all models can explain the quantitative features observed in experiments: in particular the simplest model of linear utility cannot explain the results from ultimatum game experiments, as the population receiving offers appears more spiteful than the population making offers. Our findings indicate that a simple linear model of signaling with heterogeneous players in which the degree of altruism depends on how altruistic other players are perceived to be can quantitatively explain a variety of experiments. This research develops models that can explain experimental data, and uses these models to understand how altruism and spite impact on economic settings. I consider issues such as welfare reform and charitable giving, discrimination, business organization and criminal behavior. * One substitute that has been proposed for welfare is charitable giving with government matching funds. If `warm glow` effects predominate, then donors may care little for the impact of their donations, and a privatized system need not be more efficient than a public welfare system. * A key question in the study of discrimination is the type of institutional arrangements that may encourage or discourage spiteful behavior. * The role of institutions in encouraging or discouraging spite and altruism is also key in the study of business organizations. Historically this literature has focused largely on the exchange of information, and not questions of employee morale. Which institutional arrangements make employee sabotage more or less likely? Which arrangements encourage employees to internalize the goals of the firm? * In the study of criminal behavior, the issue of respect for the law is important in explaining differences between countries. The equilibrium degree of altruism and spite is potentially an important variable in explaining these differences.