The Effect Of The Golden Rule On Inequality - Behavioral Evidence In Belief Systems

by Hazik Mohamed*

Stellar Consulting Group, Singapore

Abstract : Full Text:  Widening inequality has significant implications for growth and macroeconomic stability, and we wonder if 'doing unto others as you would have done onto you' or adherence to the Golden Rule would reduce such economic failures. This paper through a behavioral experiment sets off to understand the pervasiveness of such moral principle in our modern societies in order to enable better design of policies attuned to behavioral nuances that are rooted in religious values as a possible means to tackle economic failures like inequality. It attempts to demonstrate the importance of religious ethics in pro-social behaviors for mutually beneficial outcomes, and helps to understand the role of universal values in shared religious beliefs that reduces inequality and advances just treatment of others. The methodology of this study assesses the behavior of the subject pool (players representative of the Muslims and non-Muslims) through a Volunteer's Dilemma that was designed to test for the pro-social behavior of 'doing unto others and you have done onto you'. The game is multiplayer version of the chicken game, where a public good is only produced if at least one person volunteers. In this particular experiment, Muslims outperform non-Muslims (88% to 68%), with positive priming effects for both Muslims and non-Muslims (religiously primed subjects performed better 61% to 31%). We briefly discuss how altruism rooted in beliefs can overcome biases in tackling inequality.

Keywords: Altruism, compliance, empathy, inclusion

Updated:: 22/02/2022 [syazmer]