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).
Published: Anaylse & Kritik, 29/2, 2007, 235-358.
[Data Appendix]