Fasting and honesty: Experimental evidence from Egypt

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of religious fasting on truth-telling using a laboratory experiment in Egypt. While fasting-induced religiosity may promote truth-telling, the physiological and psychological changes during fasting, due to alimentary abstention and self-control exertion, may reduce honesty, especially when fasting is augmented with effort. We examine this question by tracing individual truth-telling decisions, in the absence and presence of additional effort, both before and during Ramadan. We find that neither effort nor fasting alone affects honesty, but exerting effort while fasting reduces honesty. We provide suggestive evidence on the mechanisms potentially driving this negative effect on honesty.