Wealthy Americans and redistribution: The role of fairness preferences

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Cohn, Alain; Jessen, Lasse J.; Klasnja, Marko; Smeets, Paul
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; University of Kiel; Georgetown University; University of Amsterdam
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104977
• 发表日期: 2023

摘要

We examine the attitudes of the wealthy towards government redistribution using a large and diverse sample of individuals from the top 5% of the income and wealth distribution in the U.S., as well as the remaining 95%. Three results stand out: (1) wealthy Americans have distinct fairness preferences, with a greater willingness to accept inequalities relative to the general public, (2) individuals who self-report having experienced upward social mobility and became first-generation wealthy are particularly accepting of inequality, while those born into wealth have fairness preferences similar to the general population; (3) the disparity in fairness preferences between the rich and the general public is predictive of greater opposition to redistribution among the wealthy, resulting in more conservative voting behavior. These findings provide new insights into the reasons behind the wealthy's opposition to government redistribution.