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Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems

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Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems. / Bouacida, Elias; Foucart, Renaud.
In: Games and Economic Behavior, Vol. 152, 31.07.2025, p. 23-36.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Bouacida, E & Foucart, R 2025, 'Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems', Games and Economic Behavior, vol. 152, pp. 23-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001

APA

Bouacida, E., & Foucart, R. (2025). Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems. Games and Economic Behavior, 152, 23-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001

Vancouver

Bouacida E, Foucart R. Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems. Games and Economic Behavior. 2025 Jul 31;152:23-36. Epub 2025 Apr 14. doi: 10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001

Author

Bouacida, Elias ; Foucart, Renaud. / Rituals of Reason : Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems. In: Games and Economic Behavior. 2025 ; Vol. 152. pp. 23-36.

Bibtex

@article{9bd11a6a5ea44fb4864941c2f572092a,
title = "Rituals of Reason: Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems",
abstract = "We study collective preferences towards the use of random procedures in allocation mechanisms. We report the results of two experiments in which subjects choose a procedure to allocate a reward to half of them. The first possibility is an explicitly random device: the outcome of a lottery. The second is an equally unpredictable procedure with an identical success rate, but without explicit randomization. We identify an aversion to lotteries, particularly when compared to procedures reminiscent of meritocratic ones. In line with the literature, we also find evidence of a preference for control in most procedures.",
author = "Elias Bouacida and Renaud Foucart",
year = "2025",
month = jul,
day = "31",
doi = "10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001",
language = "English",
volume = "152",
pages = "23--36",
journal = "Games and Economic Behavior",
issn = "0899-8256",
publisher = "ELSEVIER ACADEMIC PRESS INC",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rituals of Reason

T2 - Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems

AU - Bouacida, Elias

AU - Foucart, Renaud

PY - 2025/7/31

Y1 - 2025/7/31

N2 - We study collective preferences towards the use of random procedures in allocation mechanisms. We report the results of two experiments in which subjects choose a procedure to allocate a reward to half of them. The first possibility is an explicitly random device: the outcome of a lottery. The second is an equally unpredictable procedure with an identical success rate, but without explicit randomization. We identify an aversion to lotteries, particularly when compared to procedures reminiscent of meritocratic ones. In line with the literature, we also find evidence of a preference for control in most procedures.

AB - We study collective preferences towards the use of random procedures in allocation mechanisms. We report the results of two experiments in which subjects choose a procedure to allocate a reward to half of them. The first possibility is an explicitly random device: the outcome of a lottery. The second is an equally unpredictable procedure with an identical success rate, but without explicit randomization. We identify an aversion to lotteries, particularly when compared to procedures reminiscent of meritocratic ones. In line with the literature, we also find evidence of a preference for control in most procedures.

U2 - 10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001

DO - 10.1016/j.geb.2025.04.001

M3 - Journal article

VL - 152

SP - 23

EP - 36

JO - Games and Economic Behavior

JF - Games and Economic Behavior

SN - 0899-8256

ER -