Information and Preferences for Public Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments

Philipp Lergetporer, Guido Schwerdt, Katharina Werner and Ludger Woessmann

No 9968, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The electorates' lack of information about the extent of public spending may cause misalignments between voters' preferences and the size of government. We devise a series of representative survey experiments in Germany that randomly provide treatment groups with information on current spending levels. Results show that such information strongly reduces support for public spending in various domains from social security to defense. Data on prior information status on school spending and teacher salaries shows that treatment effects are strongest for those who initially underestimated spending levels, indicating genuine information effects rather than pure priming effects. Information on spending requirements also reduces support for specific education reforms. Preferences on spending across education levels are also malleable to information.

Keywords: education spending; preferences; information; public spending; survey experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D83 H11 H52 I22 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2016-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-net and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published - published in: Journal of Public Economics, 2018, 167, 138-157

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Related works:
Working Paper: Information and Preferences for Public Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments (2016)
Working Paper: Information and Preferences for Public Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments (2016)
Working Paper: Information and Preferences for Public Spending: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments (2016)
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