Are Elites Meritocratic and Efficiency-Seeking? Evidence from MBA Students
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866909018568523776 |
|---|---|
| author | Preuss, Marcel Reyes, Germán Somerville, Jason Wu, Joy |
| author_facet | Preuss, Marcel Reyes, Germán Somerville, Jason Wu, Joy |
| contents | Elites disproportionately influence policymaking, yet little is known about their fairness and efficiency preferences -- key determinants of support for redistributive policies. We investigate these preferences in an incentivized lab experiment with future elites: Ivy League MBA students. We find that MBA students implement substantially more unequal earnings distributions than the average American, regardless of whether inequality stems from luck or merit. Their redistributive choices are also far more responsive to efficiency costs than the near-zero response found in representative U.S. samples. These patterns partly reflect distinct fairness ideals: a large share of MBA students falls outside standard classifications, instead displaying "weak meritocratic" tendencies that tolerate inequality even when it stems from luck. These findings identify a channel through which elite preferences may sustain U.S. inequality. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_15443 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Are Elites Meritocratic and Efficiency-Seeking? Evidence from MBA Students Preuss, Marcel Reyes, Germán Somerville, Jason Wu, Joy General Economics Economics Elites disproportionately influence policymaking, yet little is known about their fairness and efficiency preferences -- key determinants of support for redistributive policies. We investigate these preferences in an incentivized lab experiment with future elites: Ivy League MBA students. We find that MBA students implement substantially more unequal earnings distributions than the average American, regardless of whether inequality stems from luck or merit. Their redistributive choices are also far more responsive to efficiency costs than the near-zero response found in representative U.S. samples. These patterns partly reflect distinct fairness ideals: a large share of MBA students falls outside standard classifications, instead displaying "weak meritocratic" tendencies that tolerate inequality even when it stems from luck. These findings identify a channel through which elite preferences may sustain U.S. inequality. |
| title | Are Elites Meritocratic and Efficiency-Seeking? Evidence from MBA Students |
| topic | General Economics Economics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.15443 |