Work

At the Root of the North–South Cooperation Gap in Italy: Preferences or Beliefs?

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: The sharp gap in development between the North and the South of Italy represents a paradigmatic case of persistent within-country disparities. The evidence suggests that this gap could depend on a difference in the ability to cooperate. We investigate experimentally three possible sources of this difference, and find that Northerners and Southerners share the same pro-social preferences, but differ both in their belief about cooperativeness and in the aversion to social risk, respectively, more pessimistic and stronger among Southerners; intervention or events that reduced pessimistic beliefs should directly boost cooperation.

Source: The Economic Journal

DOI: 10.1111/ecoj.12608

Authors: Maria Bigoni, Stefania Bortolotti, Marco Casari, Diego Gambetta

Institutions: University of Bologna, Max Planck Society, Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Economics, University of Oxford, European University Institute

Language: English

Topic: Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funder: European Research Council