Inequality of Opportunity and Income Redistribution

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Preuss, Marcel, Reyes, Germán, Somerville, Jason, Wu, Joy
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2022
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author Preuss, Marcel
Reyes, Germán
Somerville, Jason
Wu, Joy
author_facet Preuss, Marcel
Reyes, Germán
Somerville, Jason
Wu, Joy
contents Opportunities, such as access to education or family background, shape income inequality by influencing the chances of economic success. Unequal opportunities create uncertainty about whether success is merit- or luck-based. We examine how uncertainty impacts preferences for redistribution, comparing it to more transparent forms of luck. Using a U.S.-representative sample, we elicit redistribution decisions in two environments: when workers' earnings are influenced by luck directly ("lucky outcomes") or indirectly ("lucky opportunities"). Spectators redistribute less and are less sensitive to differences in luck under opportunities. Inferential challenges drive this gap, which implies that individuals are less meritocratic than previous findings suggest.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2209_00534
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inequality of Opportunity and Income Redistribution
Preuss, Marcel
Reyes, Germán
Somerville, Jason
Wu, Joy
General Economics
Economics
Opportunities, such as access to education or family background, shape income inequality by influencing the chances of economic success. Unequal opportunities create uncertainty about whether success is merit- or luck-based. We examine how uncertainty impacts preferences for redistribution, comparing it to more transparent forms of luck. Using a U.S.-representative sample, we elicit redistribution decisions in two environments: when workers' earnings are influenced by luck directly ("lucky outcomes") or indirectly ("lucky opportunities"). Spectators redistribute less and are less sensitive to differences in luck under opportunities. Inferential challenges drive this gap, which implies that individuals are less meritocratic than previous findings suggest.
title Inequality of Opportunity and Income Redistribution
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.00534