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Gender differences in giving in the Dictator Game: the role of reluctant altruism

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  • David Klinowski

    (Nuffield College, University of Oxford
    Department of Economics, Universidad de Santiago de Chile)

Abstract

The Dictator Game has been a helpful tool to study whether men or women are more generous. But recent work suggests that motivations other than generosity also influence behavior in this game. Image concerns and expectations management may cause dictators to “give reluctantly”; that is, to share money with the recipient if asked to, but to renege on their gifts if they can do so without being detected. We provide evidence from two separate experiments that females are more likely than males to give reluctantly in the Dictator Game. After accounting for retraction of gifts, males and females transfer similar amounts to the recipient in expectation. The results suggest that gender differences in non-payoff-related motivations may play a role in producing gender differences in giving in the Dictator Game.

Suggested Citation

  • David Klinowski, 2018. "Gender differences in giving in the Dictator Game: the role of reluctant altruism," Journal of the Economic Science Association, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 4(2), pages 110-122, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jesaex:v:4:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s40881-018-0058-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s40881-018-0058-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Thaler, Michael, 2021. "Gender differences in motivated reasoning," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 501-518.
    2. Argo, Nichole & Klinowski, David & Krishnamurti, Tamar & Smith, Sarah, 2020. "The completion effect in charitable crowdfunding," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 17-32.
    3. Godager, Geir & Hennig-Schmidt, Heike & Li, Jing Jing & Wang, Jian & Yang, Fan, 2021. "Does gender affect medical decisions? Results from a behavioral experiment with physicians and medical students," HERO Online Working Paper Series 2021:1, University of Oslo, Health Economics Research Programme.
    4. Halladay, Brianna & Landsman, Rachel, 2024. "Shame on me: Emotions and gender differences in taking with earned endowments," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    5. Doñate-Buendía, Anabel & García-Gallego, Aurora & Petrović, Marko, 2022. "Gender and other moderators of giving in the dictator game: A meta-analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 280-301.
    6. David Klinowski, 2021. "Reluctant donors and their reactions to social information," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 24(2), pages 515-535, June.
    7. Austermann, Christine & von Blanckenburg, Korbinian & Iseke, Anja & Tebbe, Eva, 2024. "Stereotypical behavior vs. expectations: Gender differences in a dictator game," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).

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