We study the relevance of fairness norms in an experimental scenario in which hired and rented hands are co-employed and stochastic influences and multiple reference points for fairness further increase complexity. Co-employment of hired and rented hands is an example out of a broader class of...

If a strict equilibrium is suggested as the solution of a strategic game in normal form and if some but not all players are committed to their solution strategy, a reduced game results with only the still non-committed as active players. The reduced game property (or consistency axiom) demands...

We describe Amartya Sen's Capability Approach to welfare evaluation in the language of standard welfare economics, and assess to what extent it provides a genuine alternative for individual welfare measurement and policy evaluation. We review the nascent empirical literature on the capability...

In this paper we attempt to assess empirically the capability set of the disabled. We formulate the assumptions under which capability can be interpreted as needs-adjusted disposable household income, and use equivalence scales methodology to estimate it for households in the UK. We identify a...

This paper contributes to the multidimensional welfare measurement literature inspired by Sen's functioning approach. After reviewing the different statistical techniques used in multidimensional welfare measurement, we suggest structural equation modelling as an appropriate alternative to...

We investigate the intertemporal allocation behavior of spouses with different deterministic life expectations in an experiment. In each period of their life both partners propose a consumption level of which one is then randomly implemented. In spite of the complex dynamics optimal behavior is...

This paper analyses individual information acquisition in an ultimatum game with a-priori unknown outside options. We find that while individual play seems to accord reasonably well with the distribution of empirical behavior, contestants seem to grossly overweigh the value of information. While...

Standard economic explanations of good conduct in trade rely almost exclusively on future-directed extrinsic motivations induced by material incentives. But intrinsic motives to behave trustworthy and to punish untrustworthiness do support trade. In our model, intrinsically motivated players are...

This paper focuses on the uneasy alliance of rational choice and evolutionary explanations in modern economics. While direct evolutionary explanations of "optimality" rule out "purposeful" rational choice by assuming zero-intelligence and pure rational choice explanations leave no room for...

We experimentally test overconfidence in investment decisions by offering partic- ipants the possibility to substitute their own for alternative investment choices. Overall, 149 subjects participated in two experiments, one with just one risky as- set, the other with two risky assets....