Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics
No 454: Social preferences in childhood and adolescence - A large-scale experiment
Matthias Sutter (), Francesco Feri (), Martin G. Kocher (), Peter Martinsson (), Katarina Nordblom () and Daniela Rützler ()
Additional contact information
Matthias Sutter: University of Innsbruck, University of Gothenburg, and IZA Bonn
Francesco Feri: University of Innsbruck
Martin G. Kocher: University of East Anglia and University of Innsbruck
Peter Martinsson: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Katarina Nordblom: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Daniela Rützler: University of Innsbruck
Abstract: Social preferences have been shown to be an important determinant of economic decision making for many adults. We present a large-scale experiment with 883 children and adolescents, aged eight to seventeen years. Participants make decisions in eight simple, one-shot allocation tasks, allowing us to study the distribution of social preference types across age and across gender. Our results show that when children and teenagers grow older, inequality aversion becomes a gradually less prominent motivating force of allocation decisions. At the same time, efficiency concerns increase in importance for boys, and maximin-preferences turn more important in shaping decisions of girls.
Keywords: Social preferences; children; age; gender; experiment
28 pages, July 7, 2010
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