Seminar on "What Motivates Politicians? Evidence from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in India" by Professor Kunal Sen, University of Manchester held.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) organized a seminar titled “What Motivates Politicians? Evidence from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in India” on 18th February, 2018, Sunday 11 AM at BIDS Conference Room. The paper was presented by Professor Kunal Sen. Using data from field experiments conducted in rural India, the study finds that in modified dictator games, politicians do not differ from ordinary citizens with respect to their intrinsic motivation when actions are concealed. However, when the visibility of actions increases, politicians keep more and distribute less generously than ordinary citizens implying that politicians feel entitled to keep more of the spoils for themselves. 

The seminar was attended by BIDS researchers, academics and representatives from print media. Dr. KAS Murshid, Director General, BIDS chaired the seminar.