Author(s)
Armin Falk

This paper studies the causal effect of status differences on moral disengagement and violence. To measure violent behavior, in the experiment, a subject can inflict a painful electric shock on another subject in return for money. We exogenously vary relative status in the realm of sexual attractiveness. In three between-subject conditions, the assigned other subject is either of higher, lower or equal status. The incidence of electric shocks is substantially higher among subjects matched with higher- and lower-status others, relative to subjects matched with equal-status others. This causal evidence on the role of status inequality on violence suggests an important societal cost of economic and social inequalities.

JEL Codes
A13: Relation of Economics to Social Values
C91: Design of Experiments: Laboratory; Individual
D03: Behavioral Economics: Underlying Principles
Z13: Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Social and Economic Stratification
Keywords
morality
violence
status
inequality
laboratory experiments