Fairness, Reziprozität und Eigennutz

What are the motives behind decision-making in economic contexts? What we see in experiments involving market institutions is usually consistent with 'competitive' self-interest, while 'fairness' has emerged as an important factor in bargaining games, and 'reciprocity' is often cited to explain behavior in cooperation games. In his search for a common and simple principle for these apparently inconsistent behavioral patterns, Axel Ockenfels utilizes experimental and game-theoretical methods. Based on a comprehensive survey of the latest experimental and theoretical literature and on his own and other's experimental findings, he develops a model of fair, reciprocal and competitive behavior. The model is constructed on the premise that people are motivated by both their absolute and their relative standing. In a detailed theoretical and statistical analysis of a wide range of experimental games, Ockenfels demonstrates that the different behavioral patterns are the result of the interaction between absolute and relative goals and the basic conditions of the institution concerned.