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  4. December 2011
  5. Relative Earnings and Giving in a Real-Effort Experiment

American Economic Review

ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)

Relative Earnings and Giving in a Real-Effort Experiment

  • Nisvan Erkal
  • Lata Gangadharan
  • Nikos Nikiforakis
American Economic Review
vol. 101, no. 7, December 2011
(pp. 3330–48)
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Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between relative earnings and giving in a two-stage, real-effort experiment. In the first stage, four players compete in a tournament that determines their earnings. In the second stage, they decide whether to make a transfer to one or more of their group members. Our main finding is that those ranked first are significantly less likely to give than those ranked second. This difference disappears if individuals learn about the second stage after earning their income or if earnings are randomly determined. This suggests that our main finding is driven by selection based on other-regarding preferences. (JEL: D64, J31)

Citation

Erkal, Nisvan, Lata Gangadharan, and Nikos Nikiforakis. 2011. "Relative Earnings and Giving in a Real-Effort Experiment." American Economic Review, 101 (7): 3330–48. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.7.3330

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • D64 Altruism
  • J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials