An Experimental Test of Preferences for the Distribution of Income and Individual Risk Aversion

John Beck ()

Eastern Economic Journal, 1994, vol. 20, issue 2, 131-145

Abstract: This study investigates the question of how much income redistribution individuals desire in a society with random differences in individual incomes. The experiments confronted individuals with choices of lotteries determining their own payoffs--to measure individual risk aversion--and with choices of lotteries determining payoffs to everyone in the group--to measure preferences regarding the distribution of income. The subjects were risk averse, but they did not display the extreme risk aversion implied by a Rawlsian maximin rule. The experiments produced little evidence that individuals favor a more equal income distribution than can be explained by individual risk aversion.

Keywords: Distribution; Income; Redistribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1994
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eej:eeconj:v:20:y:1994:i:2:p:131-145

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