Abstract:
Recent debate on dummy auction bidding tends to be grounded in ethical terms.
This paper surveys the various moral theories that have been applied to pricing
and property in the Western tradition as well as insights from non-Western
cultures.
Property price is linked to both the institution of property and concepts of
ethical commerce. In this way ethical pricing stands at the midpoint of two
central economic institutions. Acceptable price is found vary culturally, as well
as theoretically. Some theorists tend to be offering as much a defence of their
culture’s behaviour as a freestanding defensible argument. It is possible that
some cultures live more in harmony with their ethical positions than others,
giving their apologetic theoreticians a considerably easier task.
Conclusions from this study go beyond domestic issues of auction pricing to
include suggestion that international property may fall foul of cultural
difference if the latter is not taken into account when considering price and
terms of transfer. Suggestions are also made regarding possible implications
from ethical pricing for the globalisation process.
