Do Religious Beliefs Explain Preferences for Income Redistribution? Experimental Evidence

Ilja Neustadt

No 1009, SOI - Working Papers from Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich

Abstract: Due to the mixed empirical evidence bearing on the economic determinants, beliefs have been at the center of attention of research into preferences for income redistribution. We elicit preferences for income redistribution through a Discrete Choice Experiment performed in 2008 in Switzerland and relate them to several behavioral determinants, in particular to religious beliefs. Estimated marginal willingness to pay (WTP) is positive among those who do not belong to a religious denomination, and negative otherwise. However, the marginal WTP is shown to increase with a higher degree of religiosity. Moreover, those who state that luck or connections play a crucial role in determining economic success exhibit significantly higher WTP values than those who deem e?ort to be decisive.

Keywords: Income redistribution; beliefs; religiosity; welfare state; preferences; willingness to pay; discrete choice experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 C93 D63 H29 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2010-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-dcm, nep-evo, nep-exp, nep-pol, nep-soc and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/51797/1/wp1009.pdf first version, 2010 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Do Religious Beliefs Explain Preferences for Income Redistribution? Experimental Evidence (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:soz:wpaper:1009

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