Final published version
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Rituals of Reason
T2 - Experimental Evidence on the Social Acceptability of Lotteries in Allocation Problems
AU - Foucart, Renaud
PY - 2025/4/5
Y1 - 2025/4/5
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
JO - Games and Economic Behavior
JF - Games and Economic Behavior
SN - 0899-8256
ER -