Estimating Social Preferences and Gift Exchange at Work

We design three field experiments to estimate how workers' social preferences toward their employer motivates work effort. vary the pay rates offered workers, return employer, and generosity demonstrated via unexpected gifts. Workers exert effort even without private incentives, but is insensitive employer. This consistent with “warm glow” not pure altruism. The gifts have no effect on productivity, engender extra work. difference explained partly by finding that much more responsive incentives than productivity. (JEL C93, J24, J28, J33, M52)