Becoming a Chief through Leadership Experience: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

This study examines whether the preferences and behaviors of traditional community leaders change depending on their leadership experience. Using data from a lab-in-the-field experiment conducted in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, in which participants were village leaders in traditional communities of these tracts, this study focused on competitiveness, dishonest behavior, and altruism, which are crucial factors in the fair governance of communities. The results of a pedometer-shaking game to measure competitiveness, a dice-casting game to extract dishonest behavior, and a simple dictator game are reported. The experimental results reveal that the longer the leader’s term, the less competitive they are and the less likely they are to engage in dishonest behavior, although experience as a leader does not have any significant effect on altruism. This study contributes to the literature as it adds experimental evidence regarding the preference change of leaders in traditional communities. Preferences change in the direction of conformity to the norms and benefits of other community members as leaders gain experience. Thus, changes in leader preferences should be considered when evaluating the governance systems of traditional communities.