An experimental study of gender differences in distributive justice

This paper shows that women are more likely than men to employ the fair allocation that most benefits their financial payoff. The experimental evidence is gleaned from a dictator game with production, in which subjects first solve a quiz to accumulate earnings and then divide the surplus by choosing one over five different allocations, some of which represent a fairness ideal. The data also suggest that women are more sensitive to the context as their allocation choices depend on whether they have accumulated more or less money than their counterparts. This is not the case for men’s allocation choices (JEL Codes:C91, D30, D64, J16)
Keywords: gender differences, distributive justice, fairness ideals, self-serving choices, experimental economics, dictator game with production.