What does it mean to act morally? This research is part of normative ethics, which studies the formation of moral judgments and whether such judgments are able to motivate people to act in accordance with them. The gap between the dimension of the common good and the private life of each citizen has led to questioning whether there are moral norms whose content may constitute, per se, a sufficient reason for action. More specifically, when a norm, collectively chosen and shared, succeeds in self-imposing without any intervention of external authority.The interest for this theme arises from the urgency of defining conditions under which a group of interdependent agents, can organize themselves to obtain long-term collective benefits, find in collective action, a motivation, a commitment and a responsibility that decrease the temptation of opportunistic behaviour in distribution contexts. The main goal of this inquiry is trying to propose a normative solution of a problem of distributive justice in the following terms of: how can a norm generate a motivational causal force that induces compliance with what it asserts, in contexts where selfish rather than prosocial behaviour would be expected? This problem, approached from different perspectives, economic, psychological, sociological, also requires a philosophical reflection. Within this framework, the issue of compliance might be reread as a motivational problem: thus, the aim of this thesis would be to try to clarify the relationship between an impartial ethical point of view and what kind of real motivations people have to act in accordance with some specific ethical principles – namely, what reasons people have for acting in alignment with principles of distributive justice. Thus, the dissertation provides evidence from laboratory experiments that supports John Rawls’s Kantian constructivism as a method that allows subjects to evaluate different distribution criteria in production situations, making them reach an agreement on the liberal egalitarian principle. The Rawlsian method would rationally justify the ex-ante collective choice on that principle and it gives real motivations to comply ex-post, as it provides the conditions for creating a rationally justified joint commitment.

Due to societal and economic costs caused by compulsive consumption behavior, specifically problem drinking and overeating, a search has been launched for a cognitive explanation for the ‘deviant’ behaviors and the motivations that cause these behaviors to continue. This dissertation attempted to develop a better understanding of continued compulsive consumption behavior by investigating consumers’ use of the techniques of neutralization theory. Based on methodological concerns in neutralization research, the development of reliable and valid measures of the five techniques of neutralization theory were described and used to examine their moderation of compulsive consumption behavior and its relationship with social norm commitment and guilt. The dissertation resulted in developing four reliable and valid neutralization technique scales. The results of the structural model suggested a negative relationship between social norms and compulsive consumption behavior and a multiple regression indicated a partial moderation of certain neutralization techniques of this relationship. This dissertation has provided a better understanding of the cognitive process surrounding a consumer’s compulsive consumption behavior, the techniques used to allow the behavior to continue, and marketing applications to entice consumers to stop the behavior.

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This thesis sets out to investigate the representation of smartphones by one of the biggest English daily newspapers of the world – the New York Times – and further sheds light on the potential influence the newspaper has on the norms of smartphone behavior. The research is conducted in two parts. For the first research question through a quantitative and the second research question a qualitative content analysis of New York Times articles about smartphones from the years 2007 and 2016. For the content analysis as well as the analysis of the results three different theoretical frameworks are applied: Stuart Hall’s (1997b) representation theory, McGuire’s (2001) media effect factors and social norms theory, mainly according to Cristina Bicchieri (2017). Since assumptions on the outcome of research question one exist on the grounds of previous research conducted in the field, two hypotheses were formed:H1 – In 2007 the coverage of smartphones will be mainly positive and focus on technological aspects.H2 – In 2016 the coverage will be more critical about the consequences of the pervasion and influence of the smartphone in society.The main findings of the thesis are, for research question one, a validation of the hypotheses through the quantitative content analysis and application of the representation theory through which a distinction in the representation of the smartphones denotation and connotation could be made. And for research question two, that the strongest potential of influence on norms of smartphone behavior lies in conveying and updating and thus sometimes changing of empirical and normative expectations together with further intertwined factors.

This dissertation consists of three essays studying the determination and evolution of labor supply in China. The analysis especially focuses on the labor market behavior of the wage workers with urban registration (Hukou). The first chapter outlines the dissertation by briefly discussing the motivations, methods, and main findings in each of the following chapters. Chapter two examines the evolution of female labor supply in urban China. Female labor force participation rate in China has been declining rapidly over the last three decades. Using a time series of cross-sections from the Chinese Household Income Project Series (CHIPS), this chapter attempts to systematically relate the decrease in female labor force participation to the socio-economic changes happening in China during the same period, and assess their respective contributions. Adopting both linear and non-linear decomposition techniques, the results show that during 1988-1995, changes in population age distribution and family size both contribute, during 1995-2002, age effect dominates, and during 2002-2007, non-labor income effect dominates in explaining the decreasing trend in female labor force participation. Chapter three investigates the impact of social norms on married women's labor supply decision in China. Using data from the China General Social Survey (CGSS) and the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we find a strong and robust positive correlation between the labor supply behavior of a married woman and the former work experience of her mother-in-law. Our estimation results indicate that being raised by a working mother influences both a man's attitude toward gender roles and his household productivity, and therefore married women whose mothers-in-law were not working are themselves significantly less likely to participate in the labor force. The last chapter evaluates the labor market consequence of rural-to-urban migration in China. Starting from the mid-1990s, there is a remarkable increase in the number of migrant workers in cities, from around 39 million in 1997 to 145 million by 2009 (Meng et al. 2013). Chapter four intends to explore how does this important economic event affect the labor market conditions of urban residents. Specifically, we estimate the possible employment and earnings displacement effects of rural-to-urban migration on urban residents by exploiting regional variation in the rural migrant share of education-experience cells. We use multiple sets of instrumental variable to address the potential endogeneity problems associated with the rural migrant ratio in a city. The estimation results are consistent with the predictions of the textbook model of a competitive labor market, indicating the inflow of rural migrants reduces the wage and labor supply of competing urban residents. / Ph. D.

In November 2022, the Swedish government decided to abolish the electric vehicle (EV) policyincentive “Klimatbonus”. We create a synthetic control group based on other countries withsimilar continuous policies to gauge the outcome of EV registration in Sweden had theabolishment not occurred. The purpose of this study was to estimate whether this decision hasgenerated a significant post-abolishment impact on the demand for EVs in the Swedish carmarket. Our findings show that even though the demand has decreased, the result is statisticallyinsignificant. We conclude the policymakers have correctly estimated that the effects ondemand will be small. With this study, we contribute to evaluating the treatment effects ofabolished EV policies.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka om exposekonton reproducerar befintliga maktstrukturer och samhällsnormer bland unga. Därtill hur fenomenet påverkar dagens unga i deras liv och relationer. Målet var att öka kunskapen och lyfta ämnet kring exposekonton då det är ett socialt fenomen som saknar omfattande vetenskaplig forskning. Det är viktigt att vuxna har kunskap om ämnet, eftersom det är en del av ungas digitala vardag. Att bidra med kunskap hoppas vi leder till en ökad dialog bland vuxna. Studien genomfördes med kvantitativ metod och enkätundersökningar, totalt deltog 109 respondenter mellan 15–18 år i undersökningen i Skåne län. Resultatet i studien visar att det främst är killar som är förövare och tjejer som blir utsatta för att blir uthängda på exposekonto, vilket visar på att det finns en tydlig maktförskjutning. En stor andel av respondenterna menar på att exposekonton skapar förväntningar och normer på respektive kön. Det är tydligt att den utsatta påverkas på flera plan i livet samt upplever starka känslor av skam, nedstämdhet och ilska. Resultatet analyseras utifrån Michel Foucault & Judith Butlers teori om könsmakt samt Thomas Scheffs teorier om skam och sociala band och Raewyn Connells teori om maskuliniteter. / The aim of the study was to investigate if expose accounts reproduce society's existing power structure and social norms among young people. In addition, how the phenomenon affects the lives and relationships of today's youth. The goal was to raise awareness about the topic, as it is a social phenomenon that has no scientific research. It's important for adults around young people to have knowledge about the subject, as it is a part of young people's digital life. The study was conducted using a quantitative method with surveys. A total of 109 respondents participated in the region Skane. The results of the study show that primarily boys are the perpetrators and girls are the ones who become victims for being exposed, indicating a clear power imbalance. A large percentage of the respondents believe that expose accounts create expectations and norms for each gender. It is clear that the victim is affected on several levels in life and experiencing strong emotions of shame, sadness, and anger. The results are analyzed based on Michel Foucault & Judith Butler's theory of gender power, Thomas Scheff's theories of shame and social bonds, and Raewyn Connell's theory of masculinity.

This study aimed to analyze the progression of autism information over time and investigate the relationships among various factors such as autism knowledge, awareness, stigma, misinformation, cultural beliefs, and social norms. Utilizing the knowledge-attitude-behavior (KAB) model, a conceptual framework was devised to examine the connections between these variables. Employing a mixed-method approach comprising of systematic literature review and survey, the study initially examined articles spanning twenty-two years to track the progression of autism knowledge, awareness, and stigma. Subsequently, a survey was conducted to assess the current understanding of autism among individuals on the spectrum and their families as well as to evaluate the impact of different autism variables. The systematic literature review indicated an overall increase in autism knowledge and awareness, although it revealed disparities in certain ethnicities and areas such as genetic testing. Despite advancements, stigma was found to persist. Survey findings validated these observations, emphasizing the necessity for heightened autism awareness and the continued presence of stigma. Furthermore, the survey demonstrated that knowledge influences awareness, whereas cultural beliefs and social norms directly affect autism misinformation. Importantly, the study highlighted how cultural beliefs and misinformation can hinder accurate understanding and knowledge of autism, potentially exacerbating stigma. By employing evidence-based approaches, this study offers comprehensive insights into autism, enriching the broader literature on the subject.