Property, redistribution, and the status quo: a laboratory study

Konstantin Chatziathanasiou (), Svenja Hippel () and Michael Kurschilgen
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Konstantin Chatziathanasiou: University of Münster
Svenja Hippel: University of Würzburg

Experimental Economics, 2021, vol. 24, issue 3, No 8, 919-951

Abstract: Abstract We report experimental evidence showing a positive effect of redistribution on economic efficiency via the self-enforcement of property rights, and identify which status groups benefit more and which less. We model an economy in which wealth is produced if players voluntarily comply with the—efficient but inequitable—prevailing social order. We vary exogenously whether redistribution is feasible, and how it is organized. We find that redistribution benefits all status groups as property disputes recede. It is most effective when transfers are not discretionary but instead imposed by some exogenous administration. In the absence of coercive means to enforce property rights, it is the higher status groups, not the lower status groups, who benefit from redistribution being compulsory rather than voluntary.

Keywords: Redistribution; Property; Status; Correlated equilibrium; Battle of the sexes; Experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C72 C92 D74 H23 P48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10683-020-09685-5

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