Explaining Bargaining Impasse: The Role of Self-Serving Biases

Linda Babcock and George Loewenstein

Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1997, vol. 11, issue 1, 109-126

Abstract: The authors review studies conducted by themselves and coauthors that document a 'self-serving' bias in judgments of fairness and demonstrate that the bias is an important cause of impasse in negotiations. They discuss experimental evidence showing that (1) the bias causes impasse; (2) it is possible to reduce impasses by debiasing bargainers; and (3) the bias results from selective evaluation of information. The authors also review results from a field study of negotiations between teachers' unions and school boards in Pennsylvania that both document the fairness bias in a naturalistic setting and demonstrates its impact on strikes.

JEL-codes: D74 J52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1997
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jep.11.1.109
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (449)

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