The effects of COVID-19 lockdown on fairness and cooperation: Evidence from a lablike experiment

We run an experiment to study the effects of Covid-19 lockdown in Italy on preferences for fairness and cooperation. Given the impossibility of having participants in the lab during the lockdown, we adopted an online methodology based on a multi-platform architecture that brings experimental subjects in a “Lab on the Web”. Results from standard Ultimatum and linear Public Good games show that the circumstances in which participants lived the lockdown significantly affect their behavior in the two games. In particular, participants are more selfish in the ultimatum bargaining and contribute more to the public good when social isolation is stronger. However, cooperation decreases when lockdown is longer. We interpret these results as evidence of “social embeddedness” to compensate for “social distancing”.