Morals and Markets

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 340; no. 6133; pp. 707 - 711
• Main Authors: Falk, Armin, Szech, Nora
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 10.05.2013; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Commerce - ethics; Coupons; Decision Making; Exchange; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Killing; Laboratory animals; laboratory experimentation; Laboratory Experiments; Market conditions; Market prices; Markets; Mice; Miscellaneous; Money; Moral Values; Morality; Morals; Negotiations; Prices; Pricing; Proportions; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rodents; Social interaction; Social psychology; Social sciences; Trade; Willingness to pay; Human; Economic market; Decision making; Value; Cognition; Experimental study; Moral science
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1231566

The possibility that market interaction may erode moral values is a long-standing, but controversial, hypothesis in the social sciences, ethics, and philosophy. To date, empirical evidence on decay of moral values through market interaction has been scarce. We present controlled experimental evidence on how market interaction changes how human subjects value harm and damage done to third parties. In the experiment, subjects decide between either saving the life of a mouse or receiving money. We compare individual decisions to those made in a bilateral and a multilateral market. In both markets, the willingness to kill the mouse is substantially higher than in individual decisions. Furthermore, in the multilateral market, prices for life deteriorate tremendously. In contrast, for morally neutral consumption choices, differences between institutions are small.