Fairness and inequality acceptance in children and adolescents: A survey on behaviors in economic experiments

Abstract

This survey article provides an overview of the recent experimental economic literature on fairness‐related behaviors in children and adolescents. We discuss different motives underlying fair behavior, summarize the development of fairness and inequality acceptance across different developmental stages, and we shed light on behavioral heterogeneity with respect to gender, SES, and cultural background. Moreover, we also discuss the role of preferences and social norms as determinants of fair behavior in children and adolescents. To learn about the origins of fair behavior, we address the influence of social environments, such as the family and we discuss the potential contribution of the genetic disposition.

Fairness, (perception of) inequality, and redistribution preferences

“…Individuals' redistribution preferences are complex and nuanced in nature (Mengel & Weidenholzer, 2022). Individuals' redistribution preferences depend on, among others, whether the resulting inequality is procedurally fair (Trautmann, 2022), how individuals' fairness view developed from childhood (Schunk & Zipperle, 2023), the identity of the beneficiaries of the redistributed resources (Achard & Suetens, 2023). Mengel and Weidenholzer (2022) investigate preferences for redistribution and factors that influence these preferences.…”

“…To further uncover how fairness interacts with redistribution preferences, Schunk & Zipperle (2023) turn to the development of fairness and inequality acceptance in children and adolescents. While the literature primarily studies egalitarianism among young children, the authors consider circumstances deviating from the “fifty‐fifty” split.…”