Corruption and externalities : assessing the role of intentions

Experimental studies model corruption as reciprocal behavior that generates negative externalities for third parties. Results on how negative externalities factor in individuals' corruption-related decisions have been mixed. While (imputed) intentions have been proven to have an impact on participants' social preferences and kindness evaluations in a wide array of situations, little is known about whether and how the (imputed) intentions of third parties may enter participants' deliberation in corruption contexts. The assumed differential evaluation of externalities according to whether they are borne by active players or dummy players has important implications for real-life corruption. In many instances of corruption negative externalities are indeed incurred by (sets of) 'dummy players', such as 'society at large'. In other cases, however, more active players (such as the political head of a governmental department) are the target of negative externalities. Reciprocity models would predict that kindness evaluations concerning third parties would enter the considerations of partners to the corrupt transaction in the latter but not the former case. This important prediction, however, has not been empirically tested. We find that intentions of third parties do not affect behavior, but affect how kind individuals are perceived by others. Los estudios experimentales modelan la corrupción como una forma de comportamiento establecido sobre la base de relaciones de reciprocidad que genera externalidades negativas para terceros. Los resultados acerca de cómo las externalidades negativas influyen en las decisiones relacionadas con la corrupción de los individuos no son concluyentes. Si bien se ha demostrado que las intenciones (imputadas) tienen un impacto en las preferencias sociales y las evaluaciones de amabilidad de los participantes en una amplia gama de situaciones, poco se sabe sobre si los participantes toman en consideración y de qué manera las intenciones (imputadas) de terceros en contextos de corrupción. La supuesta diferencia al evaluar las externalidades en función de si afectan a jugadores activos o a jugadores pasivos tiene implicaciones importantes para la corrupción en la vida real. En muchos casos de corrupción, las externalidades negativas afectan a (conjuntos de) "jugadores pasivos", como "la sociedad en general". En otros casos, sin embargo, jugadores más activos (como el jefe político de un departamento gubernamental) son objeto de external