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Are groups more rational, more competitive or more prosocial bargainers?

Ulrike Vollstädt (ulrike.vollstaedt@uni-jena.de) and Robert Böhm
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Ulrike Vollstädt: Jena Graduate School "Human Behaviour in Social and Economic Change", University of Jena

No 2012-048, Jena Economics Research Papers from Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena

Abstract: In reality, it is often groups rather than individuals that make decisions. In previous experiments, groups have frequently been shown to act differently from individuals in several ways. It has been claimed that inter-group interactions may be (1) more competitive, (2) more rational, or (3) more prosocial than inter-individual interactions. While some of these observed differences may be due to differences in the experimental designs, it is still not clear which of the three motivations is prevailing as they have often been behaviorally confounded in previous experiments. We use Rubinstein's alternating offers bargaining game to compare inter-individual with inter-group behavior since it allows separating the predictions of competitive, rational and prosocial behavior. We find that groups are, on average, more rational bargainers than individuals.

Keywords: alternating offers bargaining experiment; inter-group behavior; inter-individual behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C78 D70 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-08-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-evo, nep-exp, nep-gth, nep-hpe and nep-soc
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