CREDIT Seminar: Paul Clist (University of East Anglia)

This is an in-person event.

NB:  1pm start time

Bilinguals in the lab: Why does randomising language affect cooperation? (with Josh Hill).

Abstract: Randomly assigning the language of an experiment changes behaviour for bilingual subjects. We explore why this is the case, replicating a previous result using 349 subjects in Uganda. Subjects playing a one shot public goods game in Luganda (the national language) contribute 28.9% more than those playing in the tribal language Lugisu. This effect size is within 0.1% of the previous finding. We test three mechanisms. First, we can reject the idea that language changes behaviour by activating different norms, as they do not differ by language. Second, language does not act as a coordination device, as empirical expectations do not differ by language. Third, the result appears to be driven by different preferences in different languages. Rich anthropological evidence describes the Gisu as having a self-sufficient and non-cooperative culture. Speaking the associated language appears to activate this cultural frame, whereas speaking another leads to higher cooperation. These results show a large and robust language effect on behaviour, which in this case is best explained by language-dependent preferences for cooperation.