Work

Do High Stakes and Competition Undermine Fairness? Evidence from Russia

Year: 2002

Type: report

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a series of competitive labour market experiments in which subjects have the possibility to reciprocate favours. In the high stake condition subjects earned between two and three times their monthly income during the experiment. In the normal stake condition the stake level was reduced by a factor of ten. We observe that both in the high and the normal stake condition fairness concerns are strong enough to outweigh competitive forces and give rise to non-competitive wages. There is also no evidence that effort behaviour becomes generally more selfish at higher stake levels. Therefore, our results suggest that, contrary to common beliefs, fairness concerns may play an important role even at relatively high stake levels.

Source: Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)

DOI: 10.5167/uzh-52020

Authors: Fehr, Ernst, Fischbacher, Urs, Tougareva, Elena

Institutions: University of Zurich, University of Konstanz, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Psychology

Language: English

Topic: Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies

Subfield: Safety Research

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: green

Funder: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung