Norms and norm change - driven by social Kantian preferences

Abstract

Norms indicate which behaviors are common and/or considered morally right. They may differ across space and time. I show that social-Kantian preferences can explain this. These preferences incorporate two hitherto neglected factors: Kantian moral concerns – which drive personal moral norms and motivate unconditional following thereof – and attitudes towards making a different material sacrifice than others –which motivate conditioning own on others’ behavior. Conditions on preference and belief distributions promoting/hampering spontaneous changes in the behavioral norm (the modal behavior) are identified. Implications for policy interventions aimed at changing norms, and key differences with commonly used models are discussed.

Keywords

Reference

Ingela Alger, “Norms and norm change - driven by social Kantian preferences”, TSE Working Paper, n. 24-1605, December 2024, revised August 2025.