Attitudes towards risk and inequality: a questionnaire-experimental approach

Yoram Amiel and Frank Cowell ()

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Orderings of income distribution in terms of inequality should be closely related to orderings in terms of risk. Using a novel mult-country questgionnaire experiment we examine the basis for this claim in terms of respondents' distributional perceptions. We show that in terms of both inequality and risk individuals consistently reject one of the standard axioms of distributional comparison. Moreover, there are significant differences in the 'maps' of inequality and risk comparisons. Rejection of the orthodox approach is less likely to occur when distributional comparisons involve extremes of the distributions.We show that certain key background variables are overwhelmingly important in predisposing individuals toward acceptance or rejection of the orthodox basis for distributional comparisons. This paper forms part of the research programme of the TMR network Living Standards, Inequality and Taxation [Contract No. ERBFMRXCT 980248] of the European Communities whose financial support is gratefully acknowledged

Keywords: inequality; risk; experiment; transfer principle (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C13 D63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2000-06
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/2105/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Attitudes towards Risk and Inequality: A Questionnaire-Experimental Approach (2001)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:2105

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library LSE Library Portugal Street London, WC2A 2HD, U.K.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by LSERO Manager ().