Sex-hormone genes and gender difference in ultimatum game: Experimental evidence from China and Israel

• We study the association between sex-hormone genes and UG responder behavior.
• Significant association is found for androgen receptor gene for males in China.
• Androgen receptor gene finding not replicated in Israeli sample.
• Significant association is found for estrogen receptor β gene for females in China.
• Estrogen receptor β gene finding replicated in Israeli sample.

Combining the methodologies of experimental economics and molecular genetics, we report a genetic association between sex-hormone genes and ultimatum game (UG) behavior in a discovery sample from China and a replication sample from Israel. The androgen receptor gene is found to be associated with UG responder behavior for male but not female subjects in the Chinese population, but this finding is not replicated in the Israeli sample. The estrogen receptor β gene is significantly associated with female UG responder behavior but not for male subjects in the Chinese sample. This finding is marginally replicated in the Israeli sample. Overall, our findings provide suggestive evidence on a gender specific relationship between sex-hormone genes and UG responder behavior, and can contribute to a deeper understanding of gender differences in fairness preference at the level of molecular genetics.