@techreport{NBERw14131,
 title = "Vengeance",
 author = "Naci H. Mocan",
 institution = "National Bureau of Economic Research",
 type = "Working Paper",
 series = "Working Paper Series",
 number = "14131",
 year = "2008",
 month = "June",
 URL = "http://www.nber.org/papers/w14131",
 abstract = {This paper investigates the extent of vengeful feelings and their determinants using data on more than 89,000 individuals from 53 countries.  Country characteristics (such as per-capita income, average education of the country, presence of an armed conflict, the extent of the rule-of-law, uninterrupted democracy, individualism) as well as personal attributes of the individuals influence vengeful feelings.  The magnitude of vengeful feelings is greater for people in low-income countries, in countries with low levels of education, low levels of the rule-of-law, in collectivist countries and in countries that experienced an armed conflict in recent history.  Females, older people, working people, people who live in high-crime areas of their country and people who are at the bottom 50% of their country's income distribution are more vengeful.  The intensity of vengeful feelings dies off gradually over time.  The findings suggest that vengeful feelings of people are subdued as a country develops economically and becomes more stable politically and socially and that both country characteristics and personal attributes are important determinants of vengeance.  Poor people who live in higher-income societies that are ethno-linguistically homogeneous are as vengeful as rich people who live in low-income societies that are ethno-linguistically fragmented.  These results reinforce the idea that some puzzles about individual choice can best be explained by considering the interplay of personal and cultural factors.},
}