A ‘Leaky Bucket’ in the Real World: Estimating Inequality Aversion using Survey Data

C-Tier
Journal: Economica
Year: 2010
Volume: 77
Issue: 305
Pages: 60-76

Score contribution per author:

0.503 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 0.5x C-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Existing evidence of inequality aversion relies on data from class‐room experiments where subjects face hypothetical questions. This paper estimates the magnitude of inequality aversion using representative survey data, with questions related to the real‐economy situations the respondents face. The results reveal that inequality aversion can be measured in a meaningful way using survey data, but the magnitudes of the estimates depend dramatically on how inequality aversion is measured. No matter how measured, the revealed inequality aversion predicts opinions on a wide range of questions related to the welfare state, such as the level of taxation, tax progressivity and the structure of unemployment benefits.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:econom:v:77:y:2010:i:305:p:60-76
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29