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How fair is pricing perceived to be? An empirical study

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  • Charles Raux
  • Stéphanie Souche
  • Yves Croissant

Abstract

The perceived fairness of different rules for allocating scarce resources is analysed in two cases: seats on a high speed train and parking spaces in a company car park. Attitudes toward allocation rules depend on context. They vary according to: the educational level of respondents; the type of "good"; and the exceptional or recurring nature of scarcity. Peak pricing, administrative and lottery rules are seen as the most unfair, together with queuing in some cases. The moral rule is considered to be the fairest one, except by more educated people who prefer the compensation rule.
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  • Charles Raux & Stéphanie Souche & Yves Croissant, 2009. "How fair is pricing perceived to be? An empirical study," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 227-240, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:139:y:2009:i:1:p:227-240
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-008-9390-y
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    2. Sulser, Pascal A., 2021. "Pay-per-minute pricing: A field experiment comparing traditional and participative pricing mechanisms," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Camilleri, Adrian R. & Dankova, Katarina & Ortiz, Jose M. & Neelim, Ananta, 2023. "Increasing worker motivation using a reward scheme with probabilistic elements," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    4. Westin, Jonas & Franklin, Joel P. & Proost, Stef & Basck, Pierre & Raux, Charles, 2016. "Achieving political acceptability for new transport infrastructure in congested urban regions," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 286-303.
    5. Souche, Stéphanie & Raux, Charles & Croissant, Yves, 2012. "On the perceived justice of urban road pricing: An empirical study in Lyon," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(7), pages 1124-1136.
    6. Koller, Florian, 2021. "What determines the acceptance of socially optimal traffic coordination?: A scenario-based examination in Germany," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 62-75.
    7. Neuteleers, Stijn & Mulder, Machiel & Hindriks, Frank, 2017. "Assessing fairness of dynamic grid tariffs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 111-120.
    8. Thi Minh Hang Vu & Sylvie Llosa, 2018. "Analyzing influences of Revenue Management on customers’ perceived fairness, price acceptance and switching intention in the Service industry," Post-Print hal-01934845, HAL.

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