# Fair Cake-Cutting in Practice

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.08243 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.08243/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 18 Oct 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Distributive Fairness in Large Language Models: Evaluating Alignment with Human Values](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.00313/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Using a lab experiment, we investigate the real-life performance of envy-free and proportional cake-cutting procedures with respect to fairness and preference manipulation. We find that envy-free procedures, in particular Selfridge-Conway, are fairer and also are perceived as fairer than their proportional counterparts, despite the fact that agents very often manipulate them. Our results support the practical use of the celebrated Selfridge-Conway procedure, and more generally, of envy-free cake-cutting mechanisms. We also find that subjects learn their opponents' preferences after repeated interaction and use this knowledge to improve their allocated share of the cake. Learning reduces truth-telling behavior, but also reduces envy.