Discrimination Preferences

We reconsider discrimination preferences through moral lenses and conduct experiments to systematically investigate these preferences using representative UK samples. Specifically, we evaluate the distribution of individual preferences for and against taste-and statistical-based discrimination across three domains—ethnicity, gender, and LGBTQ+ status. Using over 60,000 anonymous decisions affecting how workers are paid from more than 3,500 individuals, we document that most individuals prefer to engage in at least one type of discrimination, that there is substantial heterogeneity in preferences, and that the existence of multiple preferences changes our understanding of why individuals engage or not in discrimination. Among others, we examine how preferences relate across domains, map them onto socio-demographic characteristics, politics, support for policies, and gender wage gaps, and study underlying redistributive principles and effects of wage transparency.