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Conformism and Social Connections: An Empirical Analysis of Self-Commitment to Food Purchase

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  • Matteo Ploner

Abstract

Recent years registered a renewed interest in social interactions. However, due to some well-known identification problems, empirical estimation of peer effects remains quite problematic. To overcome problems of this kind, a database providing detailed information on the sequential structure of choices is analyzed. Observations refer to the deposit of money in a personal account devoted to the purchase of food at campus refectories. A clear tendency to conform to directly observed deposits is registered in the data. Furthermore, higher conformism is observed among mutually acquainted individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Matteo Ploner, 2007. "Conformism and Social Connections: An Empirical Analysis of Self-Commitment to Food Purchase," CEEL Working Papers 0702, Cognitive and Experimental Economics Laboratory, Department of Economics, University of Trento, Italia.
    • Handle: RePEc:trn:utwpce:0702
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    File URL: http://www-ceel.economia.unitn.it/papers/papero07_02.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

    Social interactions; Identification; Conformism; Social Proximity; Food Purchase;
    All these keywords.

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