Dorothea K Herreiner,
Economics Department, Loyola Marymount University
Clemens Puppe,
Department of Economics, University of Karlsruhe
Abstract:
We report the results of a questionnaire study on the fair distribution of indivisible goods. We collected data
from three different subject pools, first- and second- year students majoring in economics, law students, and
advanced economics students with some background knowledge of fairness theories. The purpose of this study is
to assess the empirical relevance of various fairness criteria such as inequality aversion, the utilitarian principle
of maximizing the sum of individual payoffs, the Rawlsian “maximin” principle of maximizing the payoff of the
worst-off individual, and the criterion of envy-freeness (in the sense of Foley, 1967).
Keywords: Fairness
JEL Classification: D630, C990
Current Version: August 2007
[pdf]
Forthcoming: Anaylse & Kritik, 29/2, 2007.
[Data Appendix]