In Moral Values and Market Attitudes, Wayne Baker and Melissa Forbes (both University of Michigan) explore how moral values influence market behavior. Not surprisingly, that influence is pervasive. For example, a nationalist is more likely to boycott foreign products than a non-nationalist. (Of course, once expressing one’s values through the market becomes too inconvenient, we choose less expensive means, such as bumper stickers on SUVs in lieu of curbing the consumption of Saudi oil, as, I believe, Bill Maher aptly remarked.) None of these findings challenge the foundations of modern economics, even though Baker and Forbes suggest that the results of their study strengthen “the oft-cited sociological critique of viewing man solely as Homo Economicus [sic], rather than considering social and cultural influences on market attitudes and behavior.” (Id., 15). I doubt that there is significant disagreement. The rational actor of economic theory seeks reasonably efficient ways to satisfy his or her preferences, whatever those preferences may be. Our values are part of that set of preferences. Thus, if “buy American” has utility for A, then he will value a car made in the U.S. higher than a foreign make, assuming that both cars are equal in all other respects.

The most interesting part of the article correlates specific values to market attitudes. Baker and Forbes use the value scales of traditional/secular-rational and survival/self-expression, which underlies the World Values Survey project. With respect to the first value-axis:

God, country, and family are major features of the first dimension: traditional/secular-rational values. This dimension represents beliefs in the importance of religion and the importance of God in one’s life, high levels of national pride, pro-life values (against abortion), and beliefs that children should learn obedience and respect. … [T]raditional values are correlated with beliefs in heaven, hell, life after death, frequent attendance at religious services, conservative political ideology …, and confidence in the nation’s churches and armed forces. Secular-rational values emphasize the opposite positions on all these topics. (Id., 9-10).

Those with traditional values tend to have pro-market attitudes, in particular with respect to work, the belief that the U.S. is a land of equal opportunity, and the opinion that income differences in the U.S. are not too large. (Id., 13). Those holding traditional values are relatively more pro-market than those holding secular-rational values, which I find surprising as markets are relativistic, decentralized, transnational, and have historically undermined traditional beliefs and power-structures. Baker and Forbes offer a partial explanation by pointing to the fact that “[p]rotestants tend to harbor pro-market attitudes, indicating the lasting legacy of the Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.” (Id., 15). I wonder to what extent revealed preferences would differ from stated preferences, and if there is any way to get empirical data on that. In any event, Baker’s and Forbes’s article offers a glimpse into a fascinating field of research and is a good read.

Comment feed: RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.