Introduction to Experimental Economics and Culture

John and Storr (this volume Chapter 1) write, “Culture is the lens through which individuals see and make sense of the world.” Every boundedly rational decision-maker has such a lens. In the words of Simon (1986, S210–11):

Combining these insights, culture, in a broad sense, can be considered a shared frame or world view through which members of a social unit interpret, assess, and evaluate their universe.

In recent years, economists have taken an interest in cultural questions related to identity, trust, attitudes about work, cooperation rates and risk attitudes, and ultimately, how those variables relate to economic performance and institutional functioning.¹ At times, the term “culture” is not used directly but the connection is obvious. For example, when Akerlof and Kranton (2000) advance the idea that identity influences decision-making, their definition of identity is related to culture: in their model, an individual belongs to a social group and tends to comply with the prescribed behavior of that group.