Skip to main content

On the Relative Strengths of Altruism and Fairness

Theory and Decision volume 60, pages 35–67 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Some researchers have attributed deviations from selfish behavior to fairness. Violations of fairness theories, however, are observed in experimental dictator games with transfer rates greater than 1 (a transfer of x from the dictator yields an income of tx for the beneficiary, where x < tx): the dictator’s final income is less than the beneficiary’s. We theoretically propose that dictator giving also involves altruism, further supporting our claim with empirical evidence from four separate samples of dictator game experiments. Our nonlinear specification allows the relative measurement of the independent motives in dictator behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • J.S. Adams (1963) ArticleTitleToward an understanding of inequity Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 67 422–436

    Google Scholar 

  • J.S. Adams (1965) ArticleTitleInequity in social exchange Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 2 267–299

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Andreoni (1989) ArticleTitleGiving with impure altruism: applications to charity and Ricardian equivalence Journal of Political Economy 97 IssueID6 1447–1458

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Andreoni J. Miller (2002) ArticleTitleGiving according to GARP: an experimental test of the consistency of preferences for altruism Econometrica 70 737–753 Occurrence Handle10.1111/1468-0262.00302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K.J. Arrow (1975) Gifts and exchanges E.S. Phels (Eds) Altruism, Morality and Economic Theory Russel Sage Foundation New York 13–28

    Google Scholar 

  • R.J. Barro (1974) ArticleTitleA government bonds net worth? Journal of Political Economy 82 1095–1117

    Google Scholar 

  • C.D. Batson L.L. Shaw (1991) ArticleTitleEvidence for altruism: Toward a pluralism of prosocial motives Psychological Inquiry 2 IssueID2 107–122

    Google Scholar 

  • G.S. Becker (1974) ArticleTitleA theory of social interactions Journal of Political Economy 84 343–349

    Google Scholar 

  • Bentham J. (1781). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, Reprint (2000), Kitchener, Batoche Books.

  • J. Berg J. Dickhaut K. McCabe (1995) ArticleTitleTrust, reciprocity and social theory Games and Economic Behavior 10 122–142 Occurrence Handle10.1006/game.1995.1027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • F. Bolle (1990) ArticleTitleHigh reward experiments without high expenditure for the experimenter? Journal of Economic Psychology 11 157–167

    Google Scholar 

  • F. Bolle (1991) ArticleTitleOn love and altruism Rationality and Society 3 197–214

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolle F. and Kritikos A. (2004). Altruistic behavior under incomplete information, Working Paper, European University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Oder).

  • F. Bolle P. Ockenfels (1990) ArticleTitlePrisoners’ dilemma as a game with incomplete information Journal of Economic Psychology 11 69–84

    Google Scholar 

  • G.E. Bolton A. Ockenfels (2000) ArticleTitleERC: Equity, reciprocity and competition American Economic Review 90 166–193

    Google Scholar 

  • T.N. Cason T. Saijo T. Yamato (2002) ArticleTitleVoluntary participation and spite in public good provision experiments: an international comparison Experimental Economics 5 IssueID2 133–154 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1020317321607

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • G. Charness M. Rabin (2002) ArticleTitleUnderstanding social preferences with simple tests Quarterly Journal of Economics 117 817–869 Occurrence Handle10.1162/003355302760193904

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Collard (1975) ArticleTitleEdgeworth’s propositions on altruism Economic Journal 85 355–360

    Google Scholar 

  • D. Collard (1978) Altruism and Economy Martin Robertson Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Edgeworth, F.Y. (1881), Mathematical Psychics, Reprint, 1934, L.S.E., London.

  • E. Fehr K. Schmidt (1999) ArticleTitleA theory of fairness, competition and cooperation Quarterly Journal of Economics 114 817–868 Occurrence Handle10.1162/003355399556151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.H. Frank T. Gilovich D.T. Regan (1993) ArticleTitleDoes studying Economics inhibit cooperation? Journal of Economic Perspectives 7 IssueID2 159–171

    Google Scholar 

  • K. Frisch (1971) ArticleTitleDie Kontraktkurve bei Interdependenzen im Konsum Kyklos 24 644–659

    Google Scholar 

  • W. Harbaugh (1996) What do gifts buy? A model of philanthropy and tithing based on prestige and warm glow. Mimeo Department of Economics, University of Oregon Oregon

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Hertel H. Aarts M. Zeelenberg (2002) ArticleTitleWhat do you think is ‘fair’?: Effects of ingroup norms and outcome control on fairness judgments European Journal of Social Psychology 32 327–341 Occurrence Handle10.1002/ejsp.92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kagel, J. and Roth, A. (1997), Handbook of Experimental Economics, Princeton University Press.

  • S.S. Komorita C.D. Parks (1995) ArticleTitleInterpersonal relations: Mixed motive interactions Annual Review of Psychology 46 183–207 Occurrence Handle10.1146/annurev.ps.46.020195.001151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • J. Konow (2000) ArticleTitleFair shares: Accountability and cognitive dissonance in allocation decisions American Economic Review 90 IssueID4 1072–1091

    Google Scholar 

  • A. Kritikos F. Bolle (2001) ArticleTitleDistributional concerns: Equity or efficiency oriented? Economics Letters 73 333–338 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0165-1765(01)00503-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Levine (1998) ArticleTitleModeling altruism and spitefulness in experiments Economic Dynamics 1 593–622

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Marwell R. Ames (1981) ArticleTitleEconomists free ride, does anyone else? Experiments on the provision of public goods, IV Journal of Public Economics 15 IssueID3 295–310 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0047-2727(81)90013-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • K. McCabe M. Rigdon V. Smith (2003) ArticleTitlePositive reciprocity and intentions in trust games Journal of Economic Behavior and Organizations 52 267–275

    Google Scholar 

  • W.C. Randolph (1995) ArticleTitleDynamic income, progressive taxes, and the timing of charitable contributions Journal of Political Economy 103 709–738 Occurrence Handle10.1086/262000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuben, E. and van Winden, F. (2005), Negative reciprocity and the interaction of emotions and fairness norms, Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper, Amsterdam.

  • A.G. Sanfey J.K. Rilling J.A. Aronson L.E. Nystrom J.D. Cohen (2003) ArticleTitleThe neural basis of economic decision-making in the ultimatum game Science 300 1755–1758 Occurrence Handle10.1126/science.1082976

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R. Slonim A.E. Roth (1998) ArticleTitleLearning in High Stakes Ultimatum Games: An Experiment in the Slovak Republic Econometrica 66 569–596

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Spielthenner (2004) ArticleTitleMoral emotions Disputatio 1 IssueID17 3–15

    Google Scholar 

  • O. Stark (1993) ArticleTitleNonmarket transfers and altruism European Economic Review 37 IssueID7 1413–1424 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0014-2921(93)90063-G

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tan, J.H.W. (2005), Religion and social preferences: An experimental study, Economics Letters: forthcoming.

  • Walster, E., Walster, G.W. and Berscheid, E. (1978), Equity Theory and Research, Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

  • Zizzo, D.J. and Oswald, A.J. (2001), Are people willing to pay to reduce others’ incomes? Annales d’Economie et de Statistique 63–64, 39–62.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, European University Viadrina, D15230, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany

    Jonathan H. W. Tan & Friedel Bolle

Authors
  1. Jonathan H. W. Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Friedel Bolle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Friedel Bolle.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tan, J.H.W., Bolle, F. On the Relative Strengths of Altruism and Fairness. Theor Decis 60, 35–67 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-005-4752-0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-005-4752-0

Keywords

  • altruism
  • fairness
  • dictator game
  • transfer rate
  • social welfare