Empirical Research on Ethical Preferences: How Popular is Prioritarianism?

Erik Schokkaert and Benoît Tarroux
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Benoît Tarroux: GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: We survey the empirical literature on ethical preferences, covering both survey studies and incentivized laboratory experiments. Crucial axioms such as the Pigou-Dalton transfer principle are not accepted by a large fraction of the subjects. Moreover, in formulating their distributive preferences, subjects attach much importance to the sources of income differences. Their preferences behind a veil of ignorance do not coincide with their preferences in the position of a social planner. These results suggest that prioritarian policy proposals will not necessarily be supported by a majority of the population. Although the majority opinion does not necessarily reflect the ethically desirable perspective, the empirical results still raise some interesting normative challenges

Date: 2022
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-04779424v1
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Published in Matthew D. Adler; Ole F. Norheim. Prioritarianism in Practice, Cambridge University Press, pp.459-517, 2022, ⟨10.1017/9781108691734.010⟩

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Working Paper: Empirical research on ethical preferences: how popular is prioritarianism? (2021)
Working Paper: Empirical research on ethical preferences: how popular is prioritarianism? (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04779424

DOI: 10.1017/9781108691734.010

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