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Social comparisons, status and driving behavior

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  • Chen, Yan
  • Lu, Fangwen
  • Zhang, Jinan

Abstract

The establishment of desirable social norms is an integral part of a well-functioning civil society. While recent evidence has demonstrated that social comparison can affect behavior in a variety of contexts, it is not clear what type of comparative social information is most effective. Using a large-scale field experiment to study driving practices, we sent text messages containing different types of social information to drivers in Tsingtao, China. We find two types of social information to be particularly effective in reducing traffic violations: the driving behavior of those similar to oneself and the driving behavior of those with high-status cars. Our results indicate that the combination of descriptive norms with social status is a cost-effective yet powerful intervention for establishing better driving behavior in emerging markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Yan & Lu, Fangwen & Zhang, Jinan, 2017. "Social comparisons, status and driving behavior," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 11-20.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:pubeco:v:155:y:2017:i:c:p:11-20
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.08.005
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    Cited by:

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    3. Andreea-Ionela Puiu & Anca Monica Ardeleanu & Camelia Cojocaru & Anca Bratu, 2021. "Exploring the Effect of Status Quo, Innovativeness, and Involvement Tendencies on Luxury Fashion Innovations: The Mediation Role of Status Consumption," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Jordi Brandts & Isabel Busom & Cristina Lopez-Mayan, 2024. "Do voice and social information contribute to changing views about rent control policy?," IREA Working Papers 202405, University of Barcelona, Research Institute of Applied Economics, revised Feb 2024.
    5. Jin, Liyin & Li, Lingfang (Ivy) & Zhou, Yi & Zhou, Yifang, 2022. "How to Remind People to Work Out via Feedback: Evidence from a Field Experiment," MPRA Paper 112418, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Andreas Hefti & Peiyao Shen & King King Li, 2021. "Igniting deliberation in high stake decisions: a field study," ECON - Working Papers 378, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    7. Marion Dupoux & Benjamin Ouvrard, 2023. "Harnessing social information to improve public support for Pigouvian taxes," Working Papers 2024-05, Grenoble Applied Economics Laboratory (GAEL).
    8. Chao Ma, 2021. "Be Cautious In The Last Month: The Sunk Cost Fallacy Held By Car Insurance Policyholders," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(3), pages 1199-1236, August.
    9. Muller, Paul & Habla, Wolfgang, 2018. "Experimental and non-experimental evidence on limited attention and present bias at the gym," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-041, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    10. Laura K. Gee, 2019. "The More You Know: Information Effects on Job Application Rates in a Large Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 2077-2094, May.
    11. Bai, Chong-En & Chi, Wei & Liu, Tracy Xiao & Tang, Chao & Xu, Jian, 2021. "Boosting pension enrollment and household consumption by example: A field experiment on information provision," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    12. Ninghua Du & Lingfang Li & Tian Lu & Xianghua Lu, 2020. "Prosocial Compliance in P2P Lending: A Natural Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(1), pages 315-333, January.
    13. Vivek Choudhary & Masha Shunko & Serguei Netessine & Seongjoon Koo, 2022. "Nudging Drivers to Safety: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(6), pages 4196-4214, June.
    14. Jin Zheng & Arthur Schram & Tianle Song, 2023. "Social status and prosocial behavior," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 26(5), pages 1085-1114, November.
    15. Zhang, Jinan & Perloff, Jeffrey M. & Lu, Fangwen, 2020. "Informing and inquiring: Experimental evidence on reducing traffic violations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    16. Han, Fei & Zhou, Jiehong & Yan, Zhen & Yin, Shijiu, 2022. "Nudge to be Green? The Influence of Social Comparison on Consumers' Consumption Behaviors: A Case Study of Green Takeaway Packaging," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322228, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Xianghua Lu & Tian Lu & Chong (Alex) Wang & Ruofan Wu, 2021. "Can Social Notifications Help to Mitigate Payment Delinquency in Online Peer‐to‐Peer Lending?," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 30(8), pages 2564-2585, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social comparison; Status; Randomized field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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