Guido Mehlkop

The impact of economic freedom on corruption: different patterns for rich and poor countries

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of various components of economic freedom on corruption. Some aspects of economic freedom appear to deter corruption while others do not. We identify a stable pattern of aspects of economic freedom influencing corruption that differs depending on whether countries are rich or poor. This implies that there is a strong relation between economic freedom and corruption. This relation depends on a countrys level of development. Contrary to expectations, we find that some types of regulation reduce corruption.

The Rationale for Consuming Cognitive Enhancement Drugs in University Students and Teachers

Cognitive enhancement (CE) is the pharmaceutical augmentation of mental abilities (e.g., learning or memory) without medical necessity. This topic has recently attracted widespread attention in scientific and social circles. However, knowledge regarding the mechanisms that underlie the decision to use CE medication is limited. To analyze these decisions, we used data from two online surveys of randomly sampled university teachers (N = 1,406) and students (N = 3,486). Each respondent evaluated one randomly selected vignette with regard to a hypothetical CE drug. We experimentally varied the characteristics of the drugs among vignettes and distributed them among respondents. In addition, the respondent’s internalization of social norms with respect to CE drug use was measured. Our results revealed that students were more willing to enhance cognitive performance via drugs than university teachers, although the overall willingness was low. The probability of side effects and their strength reduced the willingness to use CE drugs among students and university teachers, whereas higher likelihoods and magnitudes of CE increased this propensity. In addition, the internalized norm against CE drug use influenced decision making: Higher internalization decreased the willingness to use such medications. Students’ internalized norms more strongly affected CE abstinence compared with those of university teachers. Furthermore, internalized norms negatively interacted with the instrumental incentives for taking CE medication. This internalization limited the influence of and deliberation on instrumental incentives. This study is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the importance of social norms and their influence on rational decision making with regard to CE. We identified previously undiscovered decision-making patterns concerning CE. Thus, this study provides insight into the motivators and inhibitors of CE drug use. These findings have implications for contending with CE behavior by highlighting the magnitude of potential side effects and by informing the debate regarding the ethics of CE use.

Evaluating the drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use cognitive enhancement drugs: the influence of drug characteristics, social environment, and personal characteristics

BackgroundThe use of cognitive enhancement (CE) by means of pharmaceutical agents has been the subject of intense debate both among scientists and in the media. This study investigates several drivers of and obstacles to the willingness to use prescription drugs non-medically for augmenting brain capacity.MethodsWe conducted a web-based study among 2,877 students from randomly selected disciplines at German universities. Using a factorial survey, respondents expressed their willingness to take various hypothetical CE-drugs; the drugs were described by five experimentally varied characteristics and the social environment by three varied characteristics. Personal characteristics and demographic controls were also measured.ResultsWe found that 65.3% of the respondents staunchly refused to use CE-drugs. The results of a multivariate negative binomial regression indicated that respondents’ willingness to use CE-drugs increased if the potential drugs promised a significant augmentation of mental capacity and a high probability of achieving this augmentation. Willingness decreased when there was a high probability of side effects and a high price. Prevalent CE-drug use among peers increased willingness, whereas a social environment that strongly disapproved of these drugs decreased it. Regarding the respondents’ characteristics, pronounced academic procrastination, high cognitive test anxiety, low intrinsic motivation, low internalization of social norms against CE-drug use, and past experiences with CE-drugs increased willingness. The potential severity of side effects, social recommendations about using CE-drugs, risk preferences, and competencies had no measured effects upon willingness.ConclusionsThese findings contribute to understanding factors that influence the willingness to use CE-drugs. They support the assumption of instrumental drug use and may contribute to the development of prevention, policy, and educational strategies.

Modelling a rational choice theory of criminal action: Subjective expected utilities, norms, and interactions

Referring to classic rational choice models of criminal behaviour (Becker 1968), this paper presents an extended Subjective Expected Utility model that is more in line with the requirements of theorizing and empirical testing than former models. In our model, the decision of an actor is influenced by the expected utility of the crime and the norms that prohibit the delinquent action. It is suggested that there is an interaction between utility and norms which reflect different patterns of decision making leading to different probabilities for the occurrence of crimes. The model is tested by using survey data from Germany. Applying a new technique to uncover interaction effects reveals that in one pattern, internalized norms that label criminal action as not appropriate take effect instead of deliberation. In another pattern, the recognition that certain actions are connected to societal norms increases deliberation about costs and benefits of criminal behaviour.

Social Class and Delinquency An Empirical Utilization of Rational Choice Theory with Cross-Sectional Data of the 1990 and 2000 German General Population Surveys (ALLBUS)

The frequently predicted relationship between social class and criminal behavior is theoretically vacillating and empirically exiguous. We present an extended rational choice model which integrates the effects of an individual’s social status on his or her subjective evaluations of (1) costs, (2) utility, (3) the probability of apprehension, (4) the selective incentives, and (5) the internalization of social norms. We test the model against the offences of shop-lifting and tax-evasion. The data source derived from the German General Social Survey empirically supports the theoretical model. There exists no prevalent relationship between an individual’s social status and his or her incentives towards criminal comportment. However, the social status of an individual affects the type of offences committed. The subjectively expected probability of either failing or succeeding in a criminal act takes greater precedence over the fear of retribution or the expected utility. Additionally, internalized norms decrease the probability of committing a crime.

Effects of prepaid monetary incentives on mail survey response rates and on self-reporting about delinquency - Empirical findings

Effets des incitations monétaires prépayées sur les taux de réponse aux enquêtes par courrier et sur l’auto-déclaration de la délinquance — Les résultats empiriques : Nous avons mené une expérimentation méthodologique afin de déterminer si les taux de réponse aux enquêtes par courrier peuvent être influencés par les incitations monétaires. Avec de telles incitations, on s’attend à un taux plus élevé de réponse, comme prédit par les théories d’échanges sociaux et la théorie de l’utilité subjective attendue. Cela est particulièrement vrai dans une enquête sur les comportements délinquants du répondant, car les incitations prépayées sont susceptibles de renforcer la confiance envers le chercheur. Dans le cas d’enquêtes où l’argent est promis une fois le questionnaire retourné, nous prévoyons des taux de réponse plus faibles. Les résultats empiriques confirment clairement nos hypothèses, même si les mécanismes sociaux de réciprocité qui sous-tendent le comportement de réponse ne peuvent pas être observés directement. Notre analyse montre également que les incitations monétaires n’encouragent ni des réponses socialement souhaitables, ni des effets de parrainage qui pouvaient provoquer une surdéclaration de délinquance. Enfin, nos résultats ne montrent aucune variation systématique concernant des caractéristiques socio-structurelles et des corrélations avec la délinquance. We carried out a methodological experiment to investigate whether mail survey response rates can be influenced by monetary incentives. Prepaid monetary incentives are expected to elicit higher response rates, as predicted by social exchange and subjectively expected utility theory. This is true especially in a survey on the respondents’ delinquent behaviour, since prepaid incentives are likely to strengthen the respondents’ trust towards the researcher. For surveys in which money is promised once the questionnaire is returned, we expect the response rates to be lower. The empirical findings clearly support our assumptions, even if the social mechanisms of reciprocity which underlie response behaviour cannot be observed directly. Our analysis also shows that monetary incentives evoke neither desirability, nor sponsorship effects which would cause overreporting of delinquency. Finally, our results show no systematic variation regarding socio-structural characteristics and correlates of delinquent behaviour.

Why Nations Arm in the Age of Globalization

What accounts for different levels of military forces between countries and over time? Payne (1989) found in cross country regressions cultural influences to be the most important determinant. In contrast to Payne, we will show that the mechanisms of why nations arm can only be fully discovered by time series analysis and – going beyond Paynes model – we will test the impact of the end of the Cold War and show that the process of globalization has a significantly negative effect on the military efforts of nations. Democracy and the membership in defence alliances or supranational organisations have no impact on the level of armament at all.

Die Erklärung der Zustimmung zu familienpolitischen Umverteilungs- maßnahmen - Evidenz für das Wechselspiel von rationalen Erklärungsansätzen und der Bedeutung von Einstellungen zur Familie The Explanation of Preferences for Family Benefits. Empirical Evidence of the Interplay between Rational Choice and Attitudes towards Family and Children

Zusammenfassung Bei der Frage nach den Determinanten der Zustimmung zu sozialstaatlichen Maßnahmen seitens der Bevölkerung wird in der Literatur entweder auf die Werterwartungstheorie oder auf die Bedeutung ergebnisunabhängiger Wertorientierungen und Einstellungen zurückgegriffen. In dieser Arbeit werden beide Ansätze am Beispiel inter- generationaler Transferleistungen für Familien mit Kindern (Erhöhung des Kindergeldes) diskutiert und mithilfe der Entscheidungsheuristik des Modells der Frame Selektion berücksichtigt. Nach Auswertung von Befragungsdaten zur Salienz von familiären Einstellungen und instrumentellen Anreizen kann geschlussfolgert werden, dass beide Ansätze jeweils für unterschiedliche Teile der Bevölkerung eine Erklärung liefern können. Eine vollständige Erklärung variierender Zustimmung mithilfe eines einzigen Erklärungsansatzes kann indes als nicht ausreichend angesehen werden. Die fallspezifische Auswertung von Interaktionseffekten zwischen der generellen Einstellung zur Familie sowie der individuellen Abwägung von Kosten und Nutzen liefert neue Einsichten in die Entscheidungsprozesse. Insbesondere können Unterschiede in den Erwartungen an den Sozialstaat zwischen Befragten aus Ost- und Westdeutschland herausgearbeitet werden. Summary Explanations for different patterns of preferences for redistribution either highlight the importance of individual attitudes or emphasize the role of self-interest and rational expectations. This article presents evidence for the dual role of both explanatory approaches in the case of inter-generational monetary transfers for families and children. Both lines of analysis are reflected by the Model of Frame Selection which allows the incorporation of attitudes and instrumental incentives into the decision making process. Based on a large sample which covers questions about the approval of public policies towards families and which accounts for the importance of children and family life we show that both approaches appear to have validity in explaining preferences with respect to state transfers. Our findings indicate that the interaction effects predicted by the Model of Frame Selection provide key insights into the different patterns of preference within East and West Germany, particularly those associated with expectations of public policy

Umweltentscheidungen als Wechselspiel von Einstellungen, Handlungskosten und situativer Rahmung – ein empirischer Theorienvergleich mit Daten des GESIS Panels

Zusammenfassung Verschiedene theoretische Ansätze versuchen, den Zusammenhang zwischen individuellen Umwelteinstellungen und umweltbezogenem Verhalten bei Alltagsentscheidungen zu erklären. Die Low-Cost-Hypothese wie auch duale Prozessmodelle im Allgemeinen und das Modell der Frame Selektion im Speziellen unterstellen dabei für das Wechselspiel von Umwelteinstellungen und Entscheidungskosten unterschiedliche Wirkungszusammenhänge. Der Beitrag möchte durch die Einbeziehung sequentieller Entscheidungssituationen in aktuellen Bevölkerungsumfragen die theoretische Auseinandersetzung um die angemessene Erklärung von Umweltentscheidungen empirisch anreichern. Dazu verwenden wir Daten aus zwei Wellen des GESIS Panels. Mit Hilfe von Mehrebenenanalysen lassen sich zwar empirische Nachweise für beide Erklärungsansätze finden, für die Vorhersagen beider Theorien finden wir jedoch in Abhängigkeit der situativen Rahmung der Entscheidung auch teilweise inkonsistente Ergebnisse.

Wirkungen monetärer Anreize auf Antworten zur eigenen Delinquenz bei postalischer Befragung / Effects of Monetary Incentives on Self-Reports on Delinquency in a Mail Survey

Zusammenfassung Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden die Ergebnisse einer in dieser Zeitschrift erschienen Studie von Skarbek-Kozietulska, Preisendörfer & Wolter (2012) über die Validität der Antworten straffällig gewordener Befragter aufgegriffen. Die Autoren stellten einen negativen Effekt der Antwortlatenz fest, demzufolge spät Antwortende eher dazu neigen, ihre Straftaten zu leugnen. Die Gründe hierfür vermuten die Autoren in den Eigenheiten der TDM (tailored design method), speziell in wiederholten Nachfassaktionen. Wir untersuchen im Rahmen eines Methodenexperimentes, ob ebenfalls monetäre Anreize als weiterer zentraler Bestandteil der TDM diesen negativen Latenzeffekt für die Antwortbereitschaft verursachen können. Die These, dass der Zusammenhang von Latenz und Validität selbstberichteter Delinquenz über monetäre Anreize moderiert wird, wird dabei empirisch widerlegt. Summary In this contribution the findings of a recent study published in this journal by Skarbek-Kozietulska, Preisendörfer and Wolter (2012) on the validity of answers supplied by delinquent respondents are further investigated. Skarbek-Kozietulska et al. found a negative latency effect suggesting that, in particular, late respondents deny their delinquent behavior. They reasoned that the negative latency effect could be correlated with certain characteristics of the tailored design method (TDM) without themselves being able to offer empirical support for this contention. In an analysis of experimental data we try to clarify whether monetary incentives as a further element of TDM could also be a significant cause for the negative latency effect. On the basis of our data, such an explanation can be rejected.