How institutions shape morality

Dari-Mattiacci, Giuseppe; Fabbri, Marco

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jleo/ewab016

How institutions shape morality

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Dari-Mattiacci G, Fabbri M. How institutions shape morality. J Law Econ Organ. 2023;39(1):160-98. DOI: 10.1093/jleo/ewab016

Abstract

We present the results of a randomized control trial on the effect of the introduction of formalized property rights on individuals’ moral judgments and, in particular, on utilitarian morality. We show that institutions shape morality: being exposed to private property institutions makes individuals more utilitarian when confronted with moral dilemmas. Our results shed light on a possible institutional determinant of the variation of moral judgments across the globe and its geographical patterns, and have implications for the consequences of major institutional reforms—both intended, such as land-titling programs, and unintended, such as those following from recent historical events—on moral attitudes. We discuss two possible channels stemming from the inherent features of property rights: the loosening of social ties and the commodification of rights (JEL codes: K11; O13; Z10; Z13).