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Gender, Expectations, and the Price of Giving

Author

Listed:
  • Rigdon, Mary L.
  • Levine, Adam Seth

Abstract

A central question in the study of altruism has been whether there is a systematic gender difference in giving behavior. Many experiments, using a modified version of the dictator game, have revealed an interesting pattern: male subjects are more altruistic when the price of giving is low and female subjects are more altruistic when the price of giving is high. In the modified dictator game, however, a key variable in a person’s decision to give is what that person expects to receive. Systematic differences in those expectations may contribute to systematic differences in altruistic behavior. We show that gender differences in these expectations are, indeed, part of the larger story in exploring gender differences in altruistic giving. When expectations of receiving are endogenous, we replicate the standard finding. When expectations of receiving are uniform rather than endogenous, gender differences in price sensitivity disappear: male and female dictators give equal amounts regardless of the relative price of giving. This suggests that gender differences in expectations about others’ giving are part of the larger pattern of giving behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Rigdon, Mary L. & Levine, Adam Seth, 2018. "Gender, Expectations, and the Price of Giving," Review of Behavioral Economics, now publishers, vol. 5(1), pages 39-59, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:now:jnlrbe:105.00000078
    DOI: 10.1561/105.00000078
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias Greiff & Kurt A. Ackermann & Ryan O. Murphy, 2018. "Playing a Game or Making a Decision? Methodological Issues in the Measurement of Distributional Preferences," Games, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-25, October.
    2. Philip D. Grech & Heinrich H. Nax & Adrian Soos, 2022. "Incentivization matters: a meta-perspective on dictator games," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 8(1), pages 34-44, December.
    3. Lange, Andreas & Miniesy, Rania & Nicklisch, Andreas & Rabie, Dina & Bock, Olaf & Ross, Johannes, 2023. "Sharing norms and negotiations across cultures: Experimental interactions within and between Egypt and Germany," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 412-440.
    4. Subhasish M Chowdhury & Philip J Grossman & Joo Young Jeon, 2020. "Gender differences in giving and the anticipation regarding giving in dictator games," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 772-779.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Altruism; Price of giving; Gender differences; Expectations; Experimental economics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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