On the Fairness of the Market: Student Views on Pricing in a Pandemic Landscape

Abstract

The early empirical studies addressing ethical issues in price variations were conducted by Kahneman et al. (1986a, b). These studies questioned whether the market serves as a fair mechanism for resource allocation through price increases during hypothetical scarcity situations. An extension of this literature examines the perceptions of university students, both with and without an economics background, regarding the price system. Hypothetical and real decisions elicit different cognitive biases in social dilemmas, as hypothetical scenarios may not encompass the social and motivational complexities inherent in real decision-making processes. The differences between hypothetical and real contexts prompt us to consider whether business students may initially hold a more favorable view of market efficiency in hypothetical scenarios. However, it raises the question of whether they will maintain this favorable view after experiencing real-life situations that highlight issues of market equity. This research considers several factors that could influence participants’ attitudes toward the market, including the specific contexts they have encountered, their academic curricula, and socioeconomic variables such as income and sex. Our findings suggest that students’ real-life experiences and contexts play a more substantial role in shaping their perceptions of the price system than the influence of their academic program.

Keywords: Business economics, education, equity and efficiency, ethics, markets