Measuring social norms in economics: Why it is important and how it is done

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Experimental economics offers new tools for the measurement of social norms. In this article, we argue that these advances have the potential to promote our understanding of human behavior in fundamental ways, by expanding our knowledge beyond what we learn by simply observing human behavior. We highlight how these advancements can inform not only economic and social theory, but also policymaking. We then describe and critically assess three approaches used in economics to measure social norms. We conclude our overview with a list of recommendations to help empirical researchers choose among the different tools, depending on the nature and constraints of their research projects.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAnalyse und Kritik
Volume42
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)285-312
Number of pages28
ISSN0171-5860
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13.02.2021

    Research areas

  • Experimental economics, Injunctive norms, Measuring norms, Second-order beliefs, Social appropriateness, Social norms
  • Economics

DOI

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