Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/ 10419/110591

Title: Trust and beliefs among Europeans: Cross-country evidence on perceptions and behavior Authors: Dieckmann, Anja

Fischbacher, Urs

Grimm, Veronika

Unfried, Matthias

Utikal, Verena

Valmasoni, Lorenzo Year of Publication: 2015 Series/Report no.: IWQW Discussion Papers 04/2015 Abstract: We conduct an experimental study among European citizens regarding cross-cultural perceptions related to trust in two dimensions: volunteerism and honesty. We use representative samples from five major economies of the Euro area: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. We find that European citizens rely on nationality to infer behavior. Assessments of behavior show a north/south pattern in which participants from northern countries are perceived to be more honest and to provide more effort in a volunteering game than are participants from southern countries. Actual behavior is, however, not always in line with these assessments. Assessments of honesty show strong evidence of social projection: Participants expect other European citizens to be less honest if they are culturally closer to themselves. Assessments of volunteerism instead show a similar north/south-pattern in which both northern and southern Europeans expect higher performance of northerners than they do of southerners. Subjects: Cross-cultural perceptions

Europe

Honesty

Real effort

Representative experiment JEL: D82

D84

C93

Z13 Document Type: Working Paper Appears in Collections: FAU Discussion Papers in Economics, Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)



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