Publicness and micro-level risk behaviour: experimental evidence on stereotypical discounting behaviour

Anti-public stereotypes suggest that public agents are more likely to shun risk and tolerate delay vis-à-vis private agents. Based on context dependency of administrative behaviour, this study reports experimental evidence from 22,800 choice tasks exploring the effects publicness as a mental frame for individual judgement. Decision makers not automatically triggered deviate predicted economic discounting behaviour when switching sector context. However, employees in sample systematically overestimate risks rewards compared with general population, tentatively linking affiliation biases behaviour.