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Syrian Civil War Victims Trust Each Other, but Punish When and Whomever They Can

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Listed:
  • El-Bialy, Nora
  • Fraile Aranda, Elisa
  • Nicklisch, Andreas
  • Saleh, Lamis
  • Voigt, Stefan

Abstract

The civil war in Syria has been raging since 2011. We ask whether civil war experience affects voluntary cooperation and its coordination by means of peer punishment. To answer that question, we ran experiments with Syrians and Jordanians, and use a victimization index to measure the individual war exposure among Syrians. Despite being more trusting, severely victimized Syrians tend to be less cooperative when subsequent peer punishment is possible. Severely victimized participants punish whenever possible, not distinguishing between their opponent s decisions. Our findings show that experiencing extreme violence deteriorates the adequate use of sanctioning mechanisms.

Suggested Citation

  • El-Bialy, Nora & Fraile Aranda, Elisa & Nicklisch, Andreas & Saleh, Lamis & Voigt, Stefan, 2020. "Syrian Civil War Victims Trust Each Other, but Punish When and Whomever They Can," ILE Working Paper Series 40, University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ilewps:40
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. El-Bialy, Nora & Aranda, Elisa Fraile & Nicklisch, Andreas & Saleh, Lamis & Voigt, Stefan, 2022. "To cooperate or not to cooperate? An analysis of cooperation and peer punishment among Syrian refugees, Germans, and Jordanians," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    2. El-Bialy, Nora & Fraile Aranda, Elisa & Nicklisch, Andreas & Saleh, Lamis & Voigt, Stefan, 2021. "No Man is an Island - Trust, Trustworthiness, and Social Capital among Syrian Refugees in Germany," ILE Working Paper Series 45, University of Hamburg, Institute of Law and Economics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Civil war; Victimization; Trust; Cooperation; Punishment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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