The Role of Equality and Efficiency in Social Preferences

Ernst Fehr, Michael Naef and Klaus M. Schmidt

Discussion Paper Series of SFB/TR 15 Governance and the Efficiency of Economic Systems from Free University of Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Bonn, University of Mannheim, University of Munich

Abstract: Engelmann and Strobel (AER 2004) claim that a combination of efficiency seeking and minmax preferences dominates inequity aversion in simple dictator games. This result relies on a strong subject pool effect. The participants of their experiments were undergraduate students of economics and business administration who self-selected into their field of study and learned early on that efficiency is desirable. We show that for non-economists the preference for efficiency is much less pronounced. We also find a gender effect indicating that women are more egalitarian than men. However, perhaps surprisingly, the dominance of equality over efficiency is unrelated to political attitudes.

Keywords: Social Preferences; Inequity Aversion; Efficiency Preferences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C7 C91 C92 D63 D64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp, nep-ltv, nep-pol and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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Working Paper: The Role of Equality and Efficiency in Social Preferences (2005)
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