TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cervellati, Matteo
AU  - Vanin, Paolo
        TI  - "Thou Shalt Not Covet ...": Prohibitions, Temptation and Moral Values
        PY  - 2013/Apr/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 7334
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp7334
        AB  - This paper proposes a theory of the relationship between prohibitions and temptation. In presence of self-control problems, moral values may increase individual material welfare (and utility) by serving as a self-commitment device. The model investigates the relationship between morality and temptation, the individual gains from morality, the interaction between external sanctions and moral self-punishment and the spread and strength of individually optimal moral values. The empirical analysis, based on survey data for a large set of countries, documents a hump-shaped pattern of morality in social class, which supports the theoretical predictions of the model.
        KW  - crime
KW  - moral values
KW  - prohibitions
KW  - temptation
KW  - self-control
        ER  -