DP12561 Gender Differences in Alternating-Offer Bargaining: An Experimental Study
A laboratory study was carried out to analyze the relationship between ambiguity regarding
the sharing norms in structured alternating-offer bargaining and gender differences
in bargaining. Symmetric environments, where a 50:50 split emerges as the unique sensible
norm, showed the lowest ambiguity and gender differences were absent. We increased
ambiguity by introducing asymmetries into the bargaining environment by making one
bargaining party get a higher share than the other (due to empowerment, entitlement or
informational asymmetries), but without imposing new sharing norms. In these situations,
men were less likely to reach an agreement, but, when they did, they obtained a larger share of the pie. As a result, men and women showed similar overall earnings but earnings
were lower when bargaining with men. We found suggestive evidence that gender differences
diminished when we reduced ambiguity regarding the sharing norms by providing
information about other participants’ agreements in asymmetric environments.
