The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity*
通过三人礼物交换游戏实验，研究员工在得知同事工资和努力程度后，如何影响其对雇主的互惠行为。发现同事努力信息对互惠有显著影响，而工资信息影响较弱。
Abstract In this paper, we investigate how social comparison information about referent others (i.e., learning what similar others do, and how they are treated) affects reciprocal relationships. Using three‐person gift‐exchange games, we study how employees’ reciprocity towards an employer is affected by pay comparison information (what co‐workers earn) and effort comparison information (how co‐workers perform). We find strong evidence of the effects of effort comparison: employees are more willing to reciprocate by choosing high effort in response to a high wage if they observe others doing so. In our setting, we find somewhat weaker evidence of the effects of pay comparison.