Tomomi Tanaka, California Institute of Technology

Abstract

We conducted choice experiments in Vietnamese villages to investigate how socioeconomic status, i.e., ethnicity and income, affect behaviors in bargaining, coalition, trust and altruism. We find that 1) income is the key factor determining bargaining behaviors. Wealthy individuals tend to be hard bargainers, and people tend to be more aggressive toward those who are wealthier than themselves, regardless of the ethnicities of opponents. 2) Khmer people (a poor minority) show strong solidarity. They form coalitions with co-ethnic groups, show greater altruism to co-ethnic members, and show greater trust toward the members of their own ethnic group. In third party punishment game, Khmer people exercise severe punishment if the victim is also Khmer. 3) Vietnamese (majority) do not show solidarity when they are matched with Khmer people (poor minority), but demonstrate solidarity when they are matched with Chinese (rich minority). 4) Chinese (rich minority) do not show strong ethnic solidarity.