Are people inequality averse, and do they prefer redistribution by the state? : A revised version
We link life-satisfaction data to inequality of the pre- and post-government income distribution at the regional level, to estimate the degree of inequality aversion. Three different inequality measures are used. In addition, we investigate whether a reduction in inequality by the state increases individual well-being. We find only weak evidence that Germans are inequality averse. Inequality reduction by the state does not increase wellbeing. On the contrary, inequality reduction imposes an excess burden on middle-income earners. The paper uses data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP) from 1985 to 1998.
Year of publication: |
2003
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Authors: | Schwarze, Johannes ; Härpfer, Marco |
Publisher: |
Bonn : Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) |
Subject: | Einkommensverteilung | Soziale Werte | Einkommensumverteilung | Lebensqualität | Schätzung | Deutschland | Lebenszufriedenheit | inequality aversion | redistribution | life satisfaction | panel data |
Saved in:
Open Access
Series: | IZA Discussion Papers ; 974 |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | 37748198X [GVK] hdl:10419/20210 [Handle] |
Classification: | I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Quality of Life ; D63 - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement ; D31 - Personal Income, Wealth and Their Distributions ; C23 - Models with Panel Data |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10010261664