Pro-social Behavior Where We Least Expect It? the Selection and Socialization of Intrinsically-motivated Government (tax!) Officials

Abstract: Research predicts that pro-social organizations, such as governments, are likely to have more pro-social employees. We investigate this prediction. Comparing the behavior of over 1,000 subjects from the public and private sectors in Indonesia, we find that even individuals in government ministries that are not particularly "caring", such as ministries of finance, are significantly more pro-social than their private-sector counterparts. Is this because of selection, or socialization? A well-identified comparison of pre-career subjects indicates that more pro-social individuals select into the public sector. However, we also find evidence for socialization: service in the public sector significantly increases employee pro-sociality.