Arbeitspapier
Are Academics Messy? Testing the Broken Windows Theory with a Field Experiment in the Work Environment
We study the broken windows theory with a field experiment in a shared area of a workplace in academia (department common room). We explore academics' and postgraduate students' behaviour under an order condition (clean environment) and a disorder condition (messy environment). We find strong support that signs of disorderly behaviour triggers littering. In the disorder treatment 59% of the subjects litter compared to 18% in the order condition. The results remain robust when controlling compared to previous studies for a large set of factors in a multivariate analysis. When academic staff members and postgraduate students observe that others violated the social norm of keeping the common room clean the probability of littering increases ceteris paribus by around 40 percent.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
-
Series: CREMA Working Paper ; No. 2009-21
- Classification
-
Wirtschaft
Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
Field Experiments
Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
- Subject
-
broken windows theory
field experiment
littering
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Ramos, João
Torgler, Benno
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
-
Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA)
- (where)
-
Basel
- (when)
-
2009
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET
Data provider
This object is provided by:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Ramos, João
- Torgler, Benno
- Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA)
Time of origin
- 2009
Other Objects (12)
Are academics messy? Testing the broken windows theory with a field experiment in the work environment
Moral Suasion: An alternative tax policy strategy? Evidence from a controlled field experiment in Switzerland
A Field Experiment on Moral Suasion and Tax Compliance Focusing on Under-Declaration and Over-Deduction
Work Values in Western and Eastern Europe
?La Grande Boucle?: Determinants of Success at the Tour de France
Letter to the Editor: To the John Bates Clark Medal Committee
The Importance of Faith: Tax Morale and Religiosity
Tax Morale in Asian Countries
Tax Morale, Trust and Corruption: Empirical Evidence from Transition Countries
Behavioral taxation: Opportunities and challenges
Work values in Western and Eastern Europe
Trust in International Organizations: An Empirical Investigation Focusing on the United Nations
Are academics messy? Testing the broken windows theory with a field experiment in the work environment
Moral Suasion: An alternative tax policy strategy? Evidence from a controlled field experiment in Switzerland
A Field Experiment on Moral Suasion and Tax Compliance Focusing on Under-Declaration and Over-Deduction
Work Values in Western and Eastern Europe
?La Grande Boucle?: Determinants of Success at the Tour de France
Letter to the Editor: To the John Bates Clark Medal Committee
The Importance of Faith: Tax Morale and Religiosity
Tax Morale in Asian Countries
Tax Morale, Trust and Corruption: Empirical Evidence from Transition Countries
Behavioral taxation: Opportunities and challenges
Work values in Western and Eastern Europe
Trust in International Organizations: An Empirical Investigation Focusing on the United Nations
Are academics messy? Testing the broken windows theory with a field experiment in the work environment
Moral Suasion: An alternative tax policy strategy? Evidence from a controlled field experiment in Switzerland
A Field Experiment on Moral Suasion and Tax Compliance Focusing on Under-Declaration and Over-Deduction
Work Values in Western and Eastern Europe
?La Grande Boucle?: Determinants of Success at the Tour de France
Letter to the Editor: To the John Bates Clark Medal Committee
The Importance of Faith: Tax Morale and Religiosity
Tax Morale in Asian Countries
Tax Morale, Trust and Corruption: Empirical Evidence from Transition Countries
Behavioral taxation: Opportunities and challenges
Work values in Western and Eastern Europe