Are Academics Messy? Testing the Broken Windows Theory with a Field Experiment in the Work Environment

Authors

João Ramos, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology
Benno Torgler, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, CREMA – Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, Switzerland, NCER – National Centre for Econometric Research, and CESifo, GermanyFollow

Date of This Version

September 2010

Abstract

We study the broken windows theory with a field experiment in a shared area of a workplace in academia (department common room). We explore academics’ and postgraduate students’ behaviour under an order condition (clean environment) and a disorder condition (messy environment). We find strong support that signs of disorderly behaviour triggers littering. In the disorder treatment 59% of the subjects litter compared to 18% in the order condition. The results remain robust when controlling compared to previous studies for a large set of factors in a multivariate analysis. When academic staff members and postgraduate students observe that others violated the social norm of keeping the common room clean the probability of littering increases ceteris paribus by around 40 percent.

Recommended Citation

Ramos, João and Torgler, Benno, "Are Academics Messy? Testing the Broken Windows Theory with a Field Experiment in the Work Environment" (September 13, 2010). Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers. Paper 493.
https://services.bepress.com/feem/paper493