Does Economics Make You Selfish?

Authors

Daniele Girardi, Economics Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA)Follow
Sai Madhurika Mamunuru, Department of Economics, Whitman College (USA)Follow
Simon D. Halliday, School of Economics, University of Bristol (UK)Follow
Samuel Bowles, Santa Fe Institute (USA)Follow

Working Paper Number

2021-07

Publication Date

2021

Abstract

It is widely held that studying economics makes you more selfish and politically conservative. We use a difference-in-differences strategy to disentangle the causal impact of economics education from selection effects. We estimate the effect of four different intermediate microeconomics courses on students’ experimentally elicited social preferences and beliefs about others, and policy opinions. We find no discernible effect of studying economics (whatever the course content) on self-interest or beliefs about others’ self-interest. Results on policy preferences also point to little effect, except that economics may make students somewhat less opposed to highly restrictive immigration policies.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7275/22461478

License

UMass Amherst Open Access Policy

Recommended Citation

Girardi, Daniele; Madhurika Mamunuru, Sai; Halliday, Simon D.; and Bowles, Samuel, "Does Economics Make You Selfish?" (2021). Economics Department Working Paper Series. 304.
https://doi.org/10.7275/22461478