Social Class and (Un)Ethical Behaviour: Causal and Correlational Evidence

Abstract

Are individuals of higher socio-economic status less ethical than those of lower status? Highly popularised research findings claim that this is the case. This paper provides evidence against this claim, based on data from two large survey experiments with more than 11,000 participants. We prime social status in two heterogeneous samples of the German population and then elicit ethical behaviour in an incentivised experimental task. Thus, our data allows us to study both correlation (using demographic data) and causality (using the priming). Our study rejects the claim that higher social status individuals are less ethical on both accounts.

Welfare‐improving tax evasion

“…Others reject this. In a recent study, for example, Gsottbauer et al (2022) find no support for a negative correlation between social status and ethical behavior. Some believe the relationship goes the other way.…”

The (negative) effects of inequality on Social Capital

“…The effect of social comparison on cheating also emerges outside the laboratory setting: a large experiment reported by Gsottbauer et al (2022) using German Internet Panel finds that when rich people are aware of their relative position, they cheat much less in a mind game.…”

“…In the unethical behavior literature (i.e., cheating) the effect of the source of inequality is more widely studied. Gino and Pierce (2010) find that people cheat to restore equality even when merit is the source of inequality, while other studies find that procedural fairness reduces willingness to cheat (Gill et al., 2013; Gsottbauer et al., 2022; Houser et al, 2012).…”

“…1212For instance, in Gsottbauer et al. (2022), the experimenter first asks the subjects to privately choose a letter from A to K and then let the computer randomly choose a letter (each with an equal chance to be chosen). If the realized letter turns out to be the same letter the subject has in mind, then she will win a prize.…”

Procedural fairness and equality of opportunity

“…This has an influence on redistribution and the distribution of preferences for redistribution in the population. In particular, the better‐off may be less likely to hold preferences for redistribution, over and beyond possible assessment of merit, simply because they are of a self‐selected, more egoistic type (but see Gsottbauer et al., 2022; Trautmann et al., 2013).…”