Urs Fischbacher

Séminaire externe GAEL

14h - salle EG01, BATEG

Auteurs: Urs Fischbacher and Konstantin Hesler

Abstract:

How do people choose between reward and punishment in order to enforce a fairness norm? We investigate this question in a four-person mini dictator game with a sanctioning option. In this game a mechanism designer decides whether reward or punishment is available as a sanctioning device. Another person, the mechanism implementer, is informed about the decision of the dictator and can then decide whether the available mechanism is implemented or not. We find that implementers confirm previous evidence and care about outcome and intention. Designers do not have strict preferences for reward or punishment but choose the institution according to the situation. They prefer the institution that is most likely to be relevant for the implementer. Decision time analysis corroborates this evidence for the punishment and for the design decisions.