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PEER PRESSURE: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM RESTROOM BEHAVIOR
Author(s) -
Cardinale Lagomarsino Bruno,
Gutman Matías,
Freira Lucía,
Lanzalot María Laura,
Lauletta Maximiliano,
Malchik Leandro E.,
Montaño Campos Felipe,
Pacini Bianca,
Rossi Martín A.,
Valencia Christian
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12437
Subject(s) - externality , flushing , peer pressure , observer (physics) , social pressure , economics , microeconomics , business , public economics , psychology , social psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , psychoanalysis
We provide experimental evidence on the effect of peer pressure on individual behavior. Specifically, we study the effect of being exposed to an observer in a public restroom on handwashing and urinal flushing behavior. Our estimates show that being exposed to an observer increases the probability of handwashing by 13 percentage points and the probability of urinal flushing by 15 percentage points. Given that handwashing and urinal flushing have social benefits that exceed individual benefits, our findings provide support for peer pressure as an additional way of addressing the social suboptimality arising from externalities. ( JEL C91, C93)