In Becker et al. (2013a,b), we proposed a theory to explain giving behaviour in dictator experiments by a combination of selfishness and a notion of justice. The theory was tested using dictator, social planner, and veil of ignorance experiments. Here we analyse gender differences in preferences...

The goal of economic efficiency is to promote best outcomes by maximizing the satisfaction of people's preferences. Given the crucial role of outcomes in efficiency analysis, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the question of what an outcome actually is. Law-and-economics scholars...

We introduce the concept of financial competence, a measure of the extent to which individuals' financial choices align with those they would make if they properly understood their opportunity sets. Unlike existing measures of the quality of financial decision making, the concept is firmly...

Public goods are dealt with in two literatures that neglect each other. Mechanism design advises a social planner that expects individuals to misrepresent their valuations. Experiments study the provision of the good when preferences might be non-standard. We introduce the problem of the...

Standard elicitation approaches used to obtain quantitative information typically assumes that individuals can provide a precise value. For unfamiliar (as as well as familiar) goods, this is a strong assumption. We suggest they use of self-selected intervals, in which the shortest possible...

Under common law, the standard remedy for breach of contract is expectation damages. Under continental law, the standard is specific performance. The common law solution is ex post efficient. But is it also ex ante efficient? We use experimental methods to test whether knowing that...

Many institutions use matching algorithms to allocate resources to individuals. Examples include the assignment of doctors, students and military cadets to hospitals, schools and branches, respectively. Oftentimes, agents' ordinal preferences are highly correlated, motivating the use of...

Under common law, the standard remedy for breach of contract is expectation damages. Under continental law, the standard is specific performance. The common law solution is ex post efficient. But is it also ex ante efficient? We use experimental methods to test whether knowing that...

The most successful human societies are those that have found better ways to promote cooperative behaviour. Yet, cooperation is individually costly and, therefore, it often breaks down, leading to enormous social costs. In this article, I review the literature on the mechanisms and interventions...

We present a laboratory experiment that measures the effects of group identity -- one's perceived membership in social groups -- on market transactions in an oligopoly market with a few sellers and buyers. We artificially induce group identity using art preferences and college majors in...