Why Are Relatively Poor People Not More Supportive of Redistribution? Evidence from a Randomized Survey Experiment across Ten Countries

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
Year: 2021
Volume: 13
Issue: 4
Pages: 299-328

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

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

Abstract

We test a key assumption underlying seminal theories about preferences for redistribution, which is that relatively poor people should be the most in favor of redistribution. We conduct a randomized survey experiment with over 30,000 participants across 10 countries, half of whom are informed of their position in the national income distribution. Contrary to prevailing wisdom, people who are told they are relatively poorer than they thought are less concerned about inequality and are not more supportive of redistribution. This finding is consistent with people using their own living standard as a "benchmark" for what they consider acceptable for others.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejpol:v:13:y:2021:i:4:p:299-328
Journal Field
General
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-02-02