Language and Economic Behavior Among Filipino Bilinguals: Two Studies in Honor of Tereso S. Tullao, Jr.

Authors

Gerardo L. Largoza, De La Salle University, ManilaFollow
Emmanuel M. Garcia, Philippine Competition Commission

JEL Classification System

C93, D91, Z13

Abstract

We report the results of two studies motivated by Tereso S. Tullao, Jr.’s conviction, first articulated nearly four

decades ago, that language matters in economic decision-making. In Study 1, following Chen (2013), we estimate a fixed- effects logit model on Wave 6 of the World Values Survey, and find that speakers of Cebuano (a “tenseless” language that only weakly distinguishes between present and future), are more likely to save than speakers of Tagalog (whose grammar clearly distinguishes between present and future). In Study 2, we conduct a large-scale dictator game experiment among 480 low- income students and find an unusual preponderance of fair and hyper-fair offers (as well as a dearth of selfish offers) when instructions are issued in English, compared to either Tagalog or Bikol, a result that moderates some of the more essentialist claims of Sikolohiyang Pilipino, while remaining consistent with Akerlof and Kranton’s (2000) model of utility and identity.

Recommended Citation

Largoza, Gerardo L. and Garcia, Emmanuel M. (2023) "Language and Economic Behavior Among Filipino Bilinguals: Two Studies in Honor of Tereso S. Tullao, Jr.," DLSU Business & Economics Review: Vol. 33: No. 1, Article 6.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59588/2243-786X.1088
Available at: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/ber/vol33/iss1/6