Arbitrary Inequality in Reputation Systems.

ABSTRACT: Trust is an essential condition for exchange. Large societies must substitute the trust traditionally provided through kinship and sanctions in small groups to make exchange possible. The rise of internet-supported reputation systems has been celebrated for providing trust at a global scale, enabling the massive volumes of transactions between distant strangers that are characteristic of modern human societies. Here we problematize an overlooked side-effect of reputation systems: Equally trustworthy individuals may realize highly unequal exchange volumes. We report the results of a laboratory experiment that shows emergent differentiation between ex ante equivalent individuals when information on performance in past exchanges is shared. This arbitrary inequality results from cumulative adv

SUBMITTER: Frey V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5171920 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature