Stated social behavior and revealed actions: Evidence from six Latin American countries

Do attitudinal surveys and incentivized experiments predict actual behavior? We answer this question using data on trust and pro-sociality from experiments and surveys conducted on six Latin American cities. Individuals in agreement with a set of pro-social statements who also either are willing to trust others more or are interested in risk-pooling, end up investing more in maintaining their social capital in the form of social organizations such as charities, religion, politics, sports and culture. Both, experiments and surveys carry useful information to understand motivations and intentions in pro-social behavior and social capital formation.