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Debiasing preferences over redistribution: An experiment

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  • Romain Espinosa

    (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Bruno Deffains

    (CRED - Centre de Recherche en Economie et Droit - UP2 - Université Panthéon-Assas)

  • Christian Thöni

    (UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne)

Abstract

We study the manipulation of preferences over redistribution. Previous work showed that preferences over redistribution are malleable by the experience of success or failure in a preceding real-effort task. We manipulate the information subjects receive about the importance of chance relative to effort in determining success. We investigate the effect of this manipulation on (i) subjects' redistribution choices affecting third parties, and (ii) preferences for redistributive taxation. Our results show that informing the subjects about the relative importance of chance after the real-effort task does not mitigate the self-serving bias in redistribution choices. Only providing full information before the real-effort task prevents the emergence of the self-serving bias.

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  • Romain Espinosa & Bruno Deffains & Christian Thöni, 2020. "Debiasing preferences over redistribution: An experiment," Post-Print halshs-02614203, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02614203
    DOI: 10.1007/s00355-020-01265-z
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02614203
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    Cited by:

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    2. John Bone & Paolo Crosetto & John Hey & Carmen Pasca, 2021. "The Acceptability of Accountability," Constitutional Political Economy, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 476-501, December.
    3. Andrea Fazio, 2021. "Beautiful inequality: Are beautiful people more willing to redistribute?," Working Papers in Public Economics 194, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    4. Hansson, Kajsa & Persson, Emil & Davidai, Shai & Tinghög, Gustav, 2021. "Losing sense of fairness: How information about a level playing field reduces selfish behavior," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 66-75.

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    Keywords

    Redistribution; Self-serving bias; Debiasing; Experiment;
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