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Would You Mind if I Get More? An Experimental Study of the Envy Game

Author

Listed:
  • Sandro Casal

    (School of Social Sciences, University of Trento)

  • Werner Güth

    (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Strategic Interaction Group)

  • Mofei Jia

    (School of Social Sciences, University of Trento)

  • Matteo Ploner

    (DECO-CEEL, University of Trento)

Abstract

Envy is often the cause of mutually harmful outcomes. We experimentally study the impact of envy in a bargaining setting in which there is no conflict in material interests: a proposer, holding the role of residual claimant, chooses the size of the pie to be shared with a responder, whose share is exogenously fixed. Responders can accept or reject the proposal, with game types differing in the consequences of rejection: all four combinations of (not) self-harming and (not) other-harming are considered. We find that envy leads responders to reject high proposer claims, especially when rejection harms the proposer. Notwithstanding, maximal claims by proposers are predominant for all game types. This generates conflict and results in a considerable loss of efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandro Casal & Werner Güth & Mofei Jia & Matteo Ploner, 2011. "Would You Mind if I Get More? An Experimental Study of the Envy Game," Jena Economics Research Papers 2011-051, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    • Handle: RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2011-051
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    Cited by:

    1. Bäker, Agnes & Güth, Werner & Pull, Kerstin & Stadler, Manfred, 2015. "Three-person envy games: Experimental evidence and a stylized model," University of Tübingen Working Papers in Business and Economics 79, University of Tuebingen, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, School of Business and Economics.
    2. Fanghella, Valeria & Faure, Corinne & Guetlein, Marie-Charlotte & Schleich, Joachim, 2022. "Discriminatory subsidies for energy-efficient technologies and the role of envy," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Schleich, Joachim & Faure, Corinne & Guetlein, Marie-Charlotte & Tu, Gengyang, 2020. "Conveyance, envy, and homeowner choice of appliances," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Fuqiang Lu & Liying Wang & Hualing Bi & Zichao Du & Suxin Wang, 2021. "An Improved Revenue Distribution Model for Logistics Service Supply Chain Considering Fairness Preference," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-30, June.
    5. Khemraj, Tarron, 2019. "Two ethnic security dilemmas and their economic origin," MPRA Paper 101263, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Schleich, Joachim & Faure, Corinne & Guetlein, Marie-Charlotte & Tu, Gengyang, 2019. "Conveyance and the moderating effect of envy on homeowners' choice of appliances," Working Papers "Sustainability and Innovation" S06/2019, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI).
    7. Lisa Bruttel & Werner Güth & Ralph Hertwig & Andreas Orland, 2020. "Do people harness deliberate ignorance to avoid envy and its detrimental effects?," CEPA Discussion Papers 17, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    8. Bäker, Agnes & Güth, Werner & Pull, Kerstin & Stadler, Manfred, 2015. "The willingness to pay for partial vs. universal equality," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 55-61.
    9. Werner Güth & M. Vittoria Levati & Chiara Nardi & Ivan Soraperra, 2014. "An ultimatum game with multidimensional response strategies," Jena Economics Research Papers 2014-018, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social Preferences; Conflict; Experimental Economic; Bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C72 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Noncooperative Games

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