Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Memorandum,
Oslo University, Department of Economics

No 09/2011: Are nurses more altruistic than real estate brokers?

Karin Jacobsen (), Kari H. Eika, Leif Helland, Jo Thori Lind () and Karine Nyborg ()
Additional contact information
Karin Jacobsen: Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo, Postal: Department of Economics, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1095 Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway
Kari H. Eika: The Royal Ministry of Health and Care Services
Leif Helland: Department of Economics, BI Norwegian School of Management
Jo Thori Lind: Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo, Postal: Department of Economics, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1095 Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway
Karine Nyborg: Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo, Postal: Department of Economics, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1095 Blindern, N-0317 Oslo, Norway

Abstract: We report results from a dictator game experiment with nurse students and real estate broker students as dictators, and Amnesty International as the recipient. Although brokers contributed substantial amounts, nurses contributed significantly more, on average 76 percent of their endowment. In a second part, subjects chose between a certain repetition of the experiment and a 50-50 chance of costly exit. About one third of the brokers and half of the nurses chose the exit option. While generosity was indeed higher among nurses, even when taking exits into account, the difference cannot readily be attributed to different degrees of altruism.

Keywords: Dictator game; exit option; generosity; occupational differences

JEL-codes: D10; D64

25 pages, April 28, 2011

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