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Gender and Distributional Preferences: Experimental Evidence from India

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  • Smriti Sharma

Abstract

We conduct a lab experiment to assess whether gender of dictators and recipients, and distributional preferences affect allocations in a modified dictator game where both parties perform a cognitive task and the resulting pie to be split is the sum of both parties' earnings. Our key results are first, while on average all dictators keep more than their earned share of the pie, they display some respect for merit as the shares appropriated are correlated with their relative earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Smriti Sharma, 2015. "Gender and Distributional Preferences: Experimental Evidence from India," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-062, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2015-062
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2015-062.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Dasgupta, Utteeyo & Mani, Subha & Sharma, Smriti & Singhal, Saurabh, 2019. "Can gender differences in distributional preferences explain gender gaps in competition?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1-11.
    2. Hyoji Kwon & Yukihiko Funaki, 2022. "Do Strict Egalitarians Really Exist?," Working Papers 2206, Waseda University, Faculty of Political Science and Economics.
    3. Martin Kesternich & Andreas Löschel & Andreas Ziegler, 2021. "Negotiating weights for burden sharing rules in international climate negotiations: an empirical analysis," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(2), pages 309-331, April.
    4. Dasgupta, Utteeyo & Mani, Subha & Sharma, Smriti & Singhal, Saurabh, 2019. "Can gender differences in distributional preferences explain gender gaps in competition?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1-11.

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