That's Just - Not Fair: Gender Differences in Notions of Justice

Arbeitspapier

In Becker et al. (2013a,b), we proposed a theory to explain giving behaviour in dictator experiments by a combination of selfishness and a notion of justice. The theory was tested using dictator, social planner, and veil of ignorance experiments. Here we analyse gender differences in preferences for giving and notions of justice in experiments using the same data. Similar to Andreoni and Vesterlund (2001), we find some differences in giving behaviour. We find even stronger differences in the notion of justice between men and women; women tend to be far more egalitarian. Using our preference decomposition approach from Becker et al. (2013a) and parametric estimates, we show that differences in the giving behaviour between men and women in dictator experiments are explained by differences in their notion of justice and not by different levels of selfishness. We employ both parametric and non-parametric techniques, and both methods confirm the result.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper ; No. 15-103/I

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual ; Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis ; Allocative Efficiency; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
• Subject: Altruism ; Dictator Games ; Distribution ; Experimental Economics ; Gender Differences ; Justice ; Social Preferences

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Becker, Nicole ; Häger, Kirsten ; Heufer, Jan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Tinbergen Institute
• (where): Amsterdam and Rotterdam
• (when): 2015

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/125106
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET