Honesty pledges for the behaviorally-based regulation of dishonesty. Issue 5 (4th May 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Honesty pledges for the behaviorally-based regulation of dishonesty. Issue 5 (4th May 2021)
- Main Title:
- Honesty pledges for the behaviorally-based regulation of dishonesty
- Authors:
- Peer, Eyal
Feldman, Yuval - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT: A common regulatory dilemma is determining how much trust authorities can place in people's self-reports, especially in contexts with an incentive to cheat. In such contexts, regulators are typically risk averse and do not readily confer trust, resulting in excessive requirements when applying for permits, licenses, etc. Studies in behavioral ethics have suggested that asking people to ex-ante pledge to behave ethically can reduce their level of dishonesty and noncompliance. However, pledges might also backfire by allowing more people to cheat with no real sanctions. Additionally, pledges' effects have almost always been studied in one-shot decision making without sanctions. We explore pledges' potential effects by manipulating whether pledges were accompanied by sanctions (fines) and testing their impact on sequential, repeated ethical decisions. We find that pledges can considerably and consistently reduce dishonesty, and this effect is not crowded out by the presence of fines. Furthermore, pledges also affect "brazen liars" who cheat to a large extent and also those who score low on tendency to follow rules and norms. We conclude that pledges could be an effective tool for the behavioral regulation of dishonesty, to reduce regulatory burden, and to build a more trusting relationship between government and the public.
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of European public policy. Volume 28:Issue 5(2021)
- Journal:
- Journal of European public policy
- Issue:
- Volume 28:Issue 5(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 28, Issue 5 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 28
- Issue:
- 5
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0028-0005-0000
- Page Start:
- 761
- Page End:
- 781
- Publication Date:
- 2021-05-04
- Subjects:
- Honesty pledges -- unethical behavior -- behavioral policy -- dishonesty
European Union countries -- Politics and government -- Periodicals
Political planning -- European Union countries -- Periodicals
Politique publique -- Pays de l'Union européenne -- Périodiques
Pays de l'Union européenne -- Politique et gouvernement -- Périodiques
361.61094 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjpp20/current ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/13501763.2021.1912149 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1350-1763
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4979.608500
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 16794.xml