Abstract:Firms often discourage certain categories of individuals from buying their products, in contrast with typical assumptions about profit maximization. This paper provides a potential rationale for such firm behavior: consumers seek to signal that they have "good" moral values to themselves and others by avoiding products popular among people with "bad" values. In laboratory experiments, I provide causal evidence that demand for a product is lower if its customer base consists of individuals with undesirable mora… Show more
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