Are People Willing to Pay for Reduced Inequality?

Brian Hill () and Thomas Lloyd ()
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Brian Hill: GREGHEC, CNRS, 78351 Jouy-en-Josas, France; Economics & Decision Sciences Department, HEC Paris, 78351 Jouy-en-Josas, France
Thomas Lloyd: Economics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 1, 146-161

Abstract: Would consumers be willing to pay more for goods for which there is less inequality in wages across those involved in their production? In incentive-compatible behavioral choice studies on representative samples of the English and U.S. populations, we find significantly positive willingness to pay for such inequality reductions in more than 80% of subjects. Although it varies with political leaning and the extent of the inequality reduction, willingness to pay is positive across the political spectrum and for all studied inequality differences. It is higher for more intuitive and informative inequality-reporting formats. Our findings have policy implications for both governments and firms. On the one hand, they suggest the promise of universal provision of product-level inequality information as a tool for moderating income inequality. On the other hand, they highlight the potential relevance of inequality reporting for firms’ marketing strategies.

Keywords: income inequality; inequality information provision; consumer willingness to pay; inequality attitude; inequality reporting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:146-161

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