Perceptions of Inherited Wealth and the Support for Inheritance Taxation

C-Tier
Journal: Economica
Year: 2021
Volume: 88
Issue: 350
Pages: 532-569

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

We study how attitudes to inheritance taxation are influenced by information about the role of inherited wealth in society. Using a randomized experiment in a register‐linked Swedish survey, we find that informing individuals about the large aggregate importance of inherited wealth and its link to inequality of opportunity significantly increases the support for inheritance taxation. Changes in the perceived economic importance of inherited wealth and altered views on whether luck matters most for economic success appear to be driving factors behind the treatment effect. Our findings suggest that the low salience of inherited wealth could be one explanation behind the relatively marginalized role of inheritance taxation in developed economies.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:bla:econom:v:88:y:2021:i:350:p:532-569
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-24