Preference for Control vs. Random Dictatorship

Estache, Antonio and Foucart, Renaud and Georgalos, Konstantinos (2024) Preference for Control vs. Random Dictatorship. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Department of Economics, Lancaster.

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Abstract

In a laboratory experiment, we find that subjects do not exhibit preference for control when the alternative is a random dictatorship, a lottery implementing either their choice or the choice of someone else with equal probability. In contrast, we replicate Owens et al. (2014)’s result that they do so when the alternative is to have the choice of someone else implemented with certainty. This implies that the introduction of random dictatorships in discrete procedures such as those used for the allocation of some public procurement contracts does not necessarily involve a loss of perceived autonomy.