[Seminaire CREM] Reference-point effects in bargaining

Abstract:
This paper examines whether the status quo creates reference-point effects that reduce the focality of equal splits in bargaining. We run a lab experiment with 166 participants performing real-effort tasks, generating potentially asymmetric disagreement points. By varying the status quo relative to contract menu, we test if participants favor equal splits or equal changes from the status quo. Results show asymmetric earned endowments consistently decrease support for equal splits, while agreements involving equal changes remain robust. Our findings underscore how reference dependence influences bargaining behavior, offering new insights on the interplay between reference-point effects and equality-based norms.
Co-écrit avec Noemí Navarro, Université de Rennes, CREM