Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/190568 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 18-053
Publisher: 
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW), Mannheim
Abstract: 
Using a lab experiment, we investigate the real-life performance of envy-free and proportional cake-cutting procedures with respect to fairness and preference manipulation. We nd that envy-free procedures, in particular Selfridge-Conway, are fairer and also are perceived as fairer than their proportional counterparts, despite the fact that agents very often manipulate them. Our results support the practical use of the celebrated Selfridge-Conway procedure, and more generally, of envy- free cake-cutting mechanisms. We also nd that subjects learn their opponents' preferences after repeated interaction and use this knowledge to improve their allocated share of the cake. Learning reduces truth-telling behavior, but also reduces envy.
Subjects: 
cake-cutting
Selfridge-Conway
cut-and-choose
envy
perceived fairness
preference manipulation
experimentation and learning
JEL: 
C71
C91
D63
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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