Fairness and altruism in the context of a punishment game: a gender approach

Abstract

Most literature on gender differences in the field of economics suggests that women are more risk averse and less trustful than men and, in the context of a dictator game, women seem to be less selfish, more reciprocal and more concerned by fairness and altruism than men. In this dissertation, a survey is carried out in order to test the existence of gender differences regarding fairness and altruism in the context of a dictator game. The survey is based on the setting of the experiment included in the study by Eckel and Grossman (1996b). The results show, contrary to the general perception, that women are more selfish than men, and less altruistic. Moreover, fairness is a principle for them, as they will always or never be fair regardless of the circumstances surrounding the decision.