Bereket Kebede on endowment effects and gender in the efficiency and equity of team allocation

Bereket Kebede will present at the WIDER Seminar Series on 22 January

Abstract – Endowment effects and gender in the Efficiency and Equity of Team Allocation

We conduct a novel experiment in which pairs of subject make separable allocative efficiency and equity decisions in various power structures. Subjects achieve high efficiency in general, albeit less so when the allocation of surplus is negotiated and negotiations fail.

Allocative efficiency is partly reduced by input and output endowment effects, particularly in negotiated allocation games where subjects seek to create a sense of entitlement over joint surplus.

In terms of equity, subjects appropriate all surplus when they can, and share equally when they have to negotiate. When asked to choose between negotiating, deciding alone, or relinquishing power, many subjects choose to delegate – even though this drastically reduces their payoff. 

We find few differences between genders, but male-female pairs tend towards a more negotiated, more harmonious exchange on average than same-gender pairs. In our setting gender differences are less important than gender pairings.

About the speaker 

Bereket Kebede is a professor in behavioural development economics at the School of International Development, University of East Anglia, UK, with more than 30-year experience in development research and teaching.  After completing his undergraduate studies as a Chancellor’s Gold Medal winner at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, Bereket received a master’s (dissertation distinction) and then PhD/DPhil degrees both from Oxford University in agricultural and development economics. 

Bereket’s professional career as a university academic started at Addis Ababa University followed by the universities of Bath and East Anglia.  His research in development canvasses both fundamental research as well as policy related work.  

WIDER Seminar Series

The WIDER Seminar Series showcases recent and ongoing work on key topics in development economics. The weekly sessions held in Helsinki are open to local and visiting researchers, policy makers, and others interested in development topics. Click here to learn more.

Seminars will be live streamed on Facebook and recordings and presentations will be available after the event here.

For more information email tomi@wider.unu.edu