How Institutions Shape Morality
Amsterdam Law School Research Paper No. 2021-09
Amsterdam Center for Law & Economics Working Paper No. 2021-05
45 Pages Posted: 25 Jun 2021
There are 2 versions of this paper
Date Written: March 29, 2021
Abstract
We present the results of a randomized control trial on the effect of the introduction of formalized property rights on individuals' moral judgments and, in particular, on utilitarian morality. We show that institutions shape morality: being exposed to private property institutions makes individuals more utilitarian when confronted with moral dilemmas. Our results shed light on a possible institutional determinant of the variation of moral judgments across the globe and its geographical patterns, and have implications for the consequences of major institutional reforms --- both intended, such as land-titling programs, and unintended, such as those following from recent historical events --- on moral attitudes. We discuss two possible channels stemming from the inherent features of property rights: the loosening of social ties and the commodification of rights.
Keywords: property, utilitarianism, trolley problem, morality, moral machine
JEL Classification: K11, O13, Z10, Z13
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