Does Wealth Affect Fairness Considerations?

The influence of wealth on fairness considerations is analyzed in a series of ultimatum game experiments where proposers and receivers are given large and widely unequal initial endowments. Subjects initially demonstrate a concern for fairness. With time however, behavior becomes inconsistent with both fairness and subgame perfection. Clear evidence of learning is detected for both proposers and receivers in the estimation of a general reinforcement learning model. The results also indicate that, unlike their opponents, poor subjects i) are essentially influenced by their own experience rather than past best responses; ii) lose their ability to punish greedy bevhavior, and iii) learn to expect less.