Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics

Abstract: The paper studies the impact of altruism on Agent’s motivation in the career concerns model. I show that career concerns incentive is lessened by altruism. As a consequence, altruism can decrease effort, though conventional wisdom suggests that effort should always be higher for the more altruistic worker. This means that not only intrinsic motivation can be crowded by extrinsic incentives; crowding effect can go in the opposite direction as well. This emphasizes a new channel of interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The paper also studies the effect of altruism on wage. Interestingly, the model provides an example of winner’s blessing and shows that ambitions can hinder altruistic relationship. The model can be naturally applied to the workplace relationship and to the local public good provision.

Keywords: Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation; Career concerns; Altruism; Crowding-out

JEL-codes: D64; D82; M52

40 pages, January 22, 2010

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