David Ehrlich and Nora Szech

We study moral nudges and their impact on pro-social behavior. To promote Corona Tracing App use by sharing social information, subjects may pay for sending a recommendation message to peers. We vary information that people receive regarding the willingness to pay of others, prior to making their own choice. Does this nudge influence people’s pro-social behavior? We collect data in two distinct occasions during a particular grave pandemic phase with high daily death rates in Germany. Does the prolonged crisis mode trigger additional motivation to incur personal costs for the common benefit? Our results emphasize the effectiveness of Moral Nudges. Subjects receiving a social message pay more for sending one themselves. While willingness to pay is slightly elevated during the second round of elicitation, we find no significant effect in that regard. Motives to pay as stated by subjects reveal a pattern hinting at potential explanations.