题  目：Self-Esteem, Shame and Personal Motivation

报告人：赵小健  香港科技大学

主持人：叶  兵

时  间：2013年4月3日   星期三   15:00-17:00

地  点：浙大玉泉校区外经贸大楼418室

 
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                                       CRPE秘书处
                                         2013-4-1

Abstract

The available evidence from numerous studies in psychology suggests that overcon_dence is a much more important phenomenon in North America than in Japan. Relatedly, North Americans appear to view high self-esteem much more positively than Japanese. The pattern is reversed when it comes to shame, a social emotion which appears to play a much more important role among Japanese than North Americans. We develop an economic model that endogenizes these observed di_erences, and relates them to di_erences in the economic and social environment. A crucial tradeo_ arises in the model between the bene_ts of encouraging self-improvement and the bene_ts of promoting initiative and new investments. In this context, self-esteem maintenance (self-enhancement) and high sensitivity to shame emerge as substitute mechanisms to induce e_cient effort and investment decisions, generating a North American" equilibrium with overcon_dence and low sensitivity to shame, and a Japanese" equilibrium with high sensitivity to shame and no overcon_dence. The analysis identi_es the key equilibrium costs as well as the bene_ts of reliance on each mechanism, and the implications for welfare.