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Belief in egalitarianism and meritocracy

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  • Goto, Hideaki

Abstract

Why do people often distribute joint surplus in an egalitarian way when the payoffs for more productive people are lower than those distributed in a meritocratic way? In particular, does a stationary state exist in which more productive people believe in egalitarianism even when distaste for meritocracy decreases as meritocratic payoffs increase? We extend the Bisin–Verdier model of cultural transmission to address these questions and demonstrate that such a stationary state exists, but is stable only under certain conditions. Therefore, the fractions of people believing in egalitarianism and meritocracy may continue to fluctuate.

Suggested Citation

  • Goto, Hideaki, 2022. "Belief in egalitarianism and meritocracy," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:221:y:2022:i:c:s0165176522003706
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2022.110896
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Young H. P., 1993. "An Evolutionary Model of Bargaining," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 145-168, February.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Egalitarianism; Meritocracy; Cultural transmission;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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