Motivations for Ethical Choices in Economic Contexts

This paper deals with the issue of motivations for ethical choices within economic contexts from the perspective of economic psychology. Three general points about motivations are made at the outset: that interesting behaviours usually subserve more than one motivation; that there is no simple one-to-one correspondence between the reasoning behind an act and an 'ethical' choice and that people are often inconsistent. Empirical work in three areas is considered: ethical investment, tax evasion and the environmentally concerned consumer. It is clear that the evidence from these domains does not support a simple utility maximising model and that most people have mixed motives, mixed capabilities and varying opportunities to act in ethical and unethical ways. The frequency of ethical choices can probably be increased if situations are framed in appropriate ways. The more people become aware that nearly all everyday situations involve ethical decisions, the more likely it is that motivations will become consistent with (more ethical) behaviour. KEYWORDS: economic psychology, ethical choices, motivation, ethical investment, tax evasion, green consumption