Title

Hometown-Specific Bargaining Power in an Experimental Market in China

Abstract

We conducted a market experiment in China to examine potential effects of subjects' hometowns on their behaviors as well as potential differences between team and individual trades. We observed that group size affected bargaining power and subsequently payoffs in different directions according to where the subjects were from. This finding suggests that it is important to take one's hometown into account when comparing economic behavior or decision-making between teams and individuals, especially in the countries or regions where hometown diversity plays a central role in explaining differences in business management and local market performance.

Keywords

Hometown, Market experiment, Team trade, Individual trade, China

JEL Classification

C91, C92, D51

Inquiries

Xiangdong QIN
School of Economics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

Junyi SHEN
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: +81-78-803-7036
FAX: +81-78-803-7059

Ken-Ichi SHIMOMURA
Research Institute for Economics and Business Administration
Kobe University
Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe
657-8501 Japan
Phone: +81-78-803-7036
FAX: +81-78-803-7059

Takehiko YAMATO
Department of Social Engineering, Graduate School of Decision Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan