I was raised in a small coastal town in eastern China by two kind and hardworking parents, both employed as ordinary office workers. Despite their diligence, my parents rarely saw career advancement. They seemed to be overlooked partly because of their personal humility and partly because of the complex interpersonal pressures of their workplace. Listening to them discuss how internal politics influenced promotions and resource allocation, I became fascinated with the question of how “fair” decisions are made when a limited pie, such as limited promotion opportunities, must be divided. Although I didn’t yet know the official term, interest in distributive fairness – what game theorists call “cakecutting” – was sown during my teenage years.
