Fairness und ihr Preis

Based on the premise that fairness is different from equity and that it is primarily used in in-formal contexts we present an economic approach to fairness. Discussing the results of behav-ioral economics reveals the experience that people do not accept a monetary offer even if that collides with the rationale that more money means higher utility. The economic aspects of fairness are discussed in two ways: first, Varian´s idea of envy-free allocations in a general-equilibrium context are exposed briefly, and second, we concentrate on the implications of fairness defined via producer and consumer rents. This in-depth exposition focuses on private as well as public goods and concludes with a comparative analysis of fairness in the private and public spheres.