Abstract
In an experiment using two-bidder first-price sealed bid auctions with symmetric independent private values, we scan also the right hand of each subject. We study how the ratio of the length of the index and ring fingers (2D:4D) of the right hand, a measure of prenatal hormone exposure, is correlated with bidding behavior and total pro ts. 2D:4D has been reported to predict competitiveness in sports competition (Manning and Taylor, 2001, and Honekopp, Manning and Muller, 2006), risk aversion in an investment task (Dreber and Ho man, 2007, Garbarino et al., 2010), and the average pro fitability of high-frequency traders in financial markets (Coates, Gurnell and Rustichini, 2009). We do not find any significant correlation between 2D:4D on either bidding or pro fits. However, our study raises an issue of ethnic differences with respect to 2D:4D.
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