【主题】 A Goose Feather from a Thousand Miles Away: A Theory and Experiment on Reciprocity
【报告人】郑捷（教授，山东大学经济研究院）
【时间】2023年10月25日10:00-11:30
【地点】经济学院701室
【语言】英文
【摘要】Whether helping or reciprocating towards others, people occasionally take actions for which the underlying cost they incur exceeds the benefit actually obtained by the recipient. The degree to which such non-cost effective actions are appreciated by recipients, as compared to cost effective actions in which a recipient receives a relatively larger benefit at a lower cost, depends on whether helping actions are evaluated primarily based on the costs incurred or the benefits eventually obtained. We extend Falk and Fischbacher’s (2006) theory of reciprocity by incorporating both the costs and the consequences of a helping action in the evaluation of an individual’s kindness. We then conduct a laboratory experiment on an asymmetric version of the gift-exchange game to test the model, varying senders’ and receivers’ effectiveness in benefiting their counterparts at a single unit of their own cost. Our reduced form and structural estimation results support the findings that: (i) No matter whether during an initial interaction or when reciprocating others’ kindness, the costs incurred tend to be more highly valued by recipients as compared to the realized benefits obtained; (ii) Receivers choose to incur lower costs when reciprocating towards a sender who knew about the possibility of receiving a favor in return, as compared to the situation that the opportunity to reciprocate arises as a surprise. Together, these findings suggest that in terms of a recipient’s valuation of a favor and the corresponding desire to reciprocate, the intentions behind helping actions weigh more heavily than the mere benefits obtained.
【报告人简介】郑捷，1999-2005就读于清华大学经济管理学院，先后获得经济学学士与硕士学位；2005-2011就读于美国圣路易斯华盛顿大学，先后获得经济学硕士与博士学位，师从著名学者David K. Levine教授。现为山东大学特聘教授，山东大学经济研究院教授、博士生导师，山东大学理论与实验经济学研究中心（CREATE）主任，清华大学互联网产业研究院产业学者，清华大学经济科学与政策实验室（ESPEL）创建人之一。此前，担任过香港中文大学访问学者、欧洲大学研究院费尔南·布罗代尔资深学者、清华大学经济管理学院博士生导师。现任国际学术期刊Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization副主编、Research in Economics副主编、North American Journal of Economics and Finance编委，并担任Economic Modelling、Behavioral Sciences等多份SSCI/SCI期刊客座主编。现任中国行为与实验经济学论坛联合秘书长、中国微观经济理论论坛学术委员会委员、中国信息经济学会理事会常务理事、中国运筹学会博弈论分会常务理事、中国经济学年会微观理论与行为经济专业委员会委员、国际行为经济学促进学会理事等学术职务。