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Is Altruism Feasible? Interdependent Preferences Provide the Answer

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Author Info
Vicki Knoblauch (University of Connecticut)

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Abstract

Is it possible to be altruistic in the face of altruism? With a naive definition of altruism, the answer is no. If an altruistic consumer is defined to be one whose preferences over allocations satisfy an appropriate interdependence condition, then the answer is yes. However, altruism in the face of malice is impossible. One of our findings is that if two consumers are mutually altruistic, exactly one of them should adopt selfish preferences over allocations.

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File URL: http://www.econ.uconn.edu/working/2001-04.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Connecticut, Department of Economics in its series Working papers with number 2001-04.

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Length: 18 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2001
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:uct:uconnp:2001-04

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Related research
Keywords: altruism; interdependent preferences;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Fehr, Ernst & Kirchsteiger, George & Riedl, Arno, 1993. "Does Fairness Prevent Market Clearing? An Experimental Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(2), pages 437-59, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Barro, Robert J, 1974. "Are Government Bonds Net Wealth?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1095-1117, Nov.-Dec.. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Bester, Helmut & Guth, Werner, 1998. "Is altruism evolutionarily stable?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 193-209, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Kockesen, Levent & Ok, Efe A. & Sethi, Rajiv, 2000. "The Strategic Advantage of Negatively Interdependent Preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 274-299, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. repec:att:wimass:1919992 is not listed on IDEAS
  6. Bergstrom, Theodore C, 1999. " Systems of Benevolent Utility Functions," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 1(1), pages 71-100. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
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