Measuring Subject Fairness

This chapter proposes an alternative framework for measuring individual fairness in experimental settings, moving beyond traditional interpretations based solely on distributive outcomes. While bilateral bargaining games such as the Ultimatum and Dictator Games typically assess fairness through offer sizes and rejection behaviour, this approach introduces a role-reversal construct grounded in the principle “do unto others as you do unto yourself”. Two sessions of laboratory experiments were conducted with student participants to evaluate fairness based on consistency in choices across mirrored decision scenarios. The findings reveal two key insights: first, that self-interested individuals can still behave fairly when fairness is defined as role-consistent behaviour; and second, that egalitarian choices do not necessarily imply fairness under this construct. These results challenge conventional assumptions and offer a new lens for understanding fairness in economic behaviour.