Measuring Social Preferences in Developing Economies

Social preferences have played an increasingly important role in understanding economic development over the past two decades. Building on these developments, this chapter offers a guide to researchers measuring social preferences especially but not exclusively in developing economies. It discusses common measures of social preferences, ranging from incentivized behavioral games, to unincentivized survey methods, and a range of innovative methods. We discuss practical measurement issues, document links between different measures and real life behavior. We conclude by discussing applications ranging from group identity, conflict, stability of preferences, the role of social pressure, and networks. Finally, we outline the path forward in deepening our understanding of complexities of social preferences and their relevance for economic development.