Egalitarianism and Competitiveness

The article discusses and analyzes data from several economic experiments in a household sur-vey with mothers of preschool children. The researchers measured competitiveness by giving the subjects the choice between competing in a tournament or receiving a piece rate for a real effort task. The subjects also participated in lottery choices, which enabled the researchers to assess their risk preferences. The relationship between social preferences and competitiveness in the sample of mothers of preschool children was analyzed. The hypothesis that egalitarian subjects aren't as likely to self-select into competitive environments, which can produce winners and los-ers, was tested. A negative relationship between egalitarian choices and self-selection into com-petition was found. Egalitarianism and Competitiveness Björn Bartling, Ernst Fehr, Michel André Maréchal and Daniel Schunk Forthcoming: American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings May 2009 Björn Bartling Blümlisalpstrasse 10, CH-8006 Zürich Phone: +41 44 634 37 22 Email: [email protected] Ernst Fehr (corresponding author) Blümlisalpstrasse 10, CH-8006 Zürich Phone: +41 44 634 37 09 Fax: +41 44 634 49 07 Email: [email protected] Michel André Maréchal Blümlisalpstrasse 10, CH-8006 Zürich Phone: +41 44 634 51 91 Email: [email protected] Daniel Schunk Blümlisalpstrasse 10, CH-8006 Zürich Phone: +41 44 634 37 04 Email: [email protected]