Financial News reported yesterday that some laid-off financiers are offering to work for free in a bid to turn their volunteer efforts into a paying position, but the urge to do something for nothing can also apply to bankers earning half a million dollars a year, according to one behavioural economist.

Dan Ariely of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote a short post entitled 'Why bankers would rather work for $0 than for $500k' on his Predictably Irrational blog, earlier this month.