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Oxford Economic Papers Advance Access originally published online on October 26, 2004
Oxford Economic Papers 2005 57(1):90-111; doi:10.1093/oep/gpi002
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Right arrow D01 - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
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© Oxford University Press 2004; All rights reserved

Beyond outcomes: measuring procedural utility

Bruno S. Frey* and Alois Stutzer{dagger}

* Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich {dagger} Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Bluemlisalpstrasse 10, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland e-mail: bsfrey{at}iew.unizh.ch, astutzer{at}iew.unizh.ch

People not only obtain utility from actual outcomes but also from the conditions which lead to these outcomes. The paper proposes an economic concept of this notion of procedural utility. Preferences beyond outcome can be manifold. We distinguish procedural utility people get from institutions as such, i.e., from how allocative and redistributive decisions are taken, procedural utility from activities towards which people have an intrinsic attitude and procedural utility from the way being treated in interaction with other people. In an empirical application, it is studied whether people gain procedural utility from participating in the political decision-making process itself, irrespective of the outcome. Utility is measured by individuals’ reported subjective well-being. We find that participation rights provide procedural utility in terms of a feeling of self-determination and influence. In contrast, actual participation and use of participation rights does not.

Key Words: JEL classifications: D60 • D63 • D72 • H73 • I31


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