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Is Equality Fair?

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  • Arthur Tarasov

    (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Poland)

Abstract

This paper attempts to answer the question whether people consider decisions that lead to equal outcomes fair. I find that this is not always the case. In an experiment where subjects are given equal opportunities to choose how to divide money between each other in a two-player game, any strategy is perceived to be fair more than half the time, including the profit-maximizing strategy. The equal divisions that lead to equal outcomes are sometimes considered unfair by both players. Moreover, players frequently punished the others, whose decisions led to equal outcomes. I hypothesize that such punishments occur because people have different conceptions of what a fair outcome and fair punishment are.

Suggested Citation

  • Arthur Tarasov, 2015. "Is Equality Fair?," The International Journal of Economic Behavior - IJEB, Faculty of Business and Administration, University of Bucharest, vol. 5(1), pages 133-148, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:but:ijebfa:v:5:y:2015:i:1:p:133-148
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    4. Kurt Devooght, 2008. "To Each the Same and to Each his Own: A Proposal to Measure Responsibility‐Sensitive Income Inequality," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(298), pages 280-295, May.
    5. Falk, Armin & Fischbacher, Urs, 2006. "A theory of reciprocity," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 293-315, February.
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