Lifting the Veil of Ignorance - Survey Experiments on Preferences for Wealth Redistribution

Elisa Stumpf () and Silke Uebelmesser ()
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Elisa Stumpf: Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Silke Uebelmesser: Friedrich Schiller University Jena, CESifo

No 2026-003, Jena Economics Research Papers from Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena

Abstract: We study beliefs about wealth inequality and preferences for wealth redistribution, drawing on a large-scale online survey in Germany. Specifically, we assess participants’ knowledge of the German wealth distribution, their perceived position within it, and the effects of two information treatments on redistribution preferences. While we find no significant average treatment effects across the full sample, a systematic data-driven analysis reveals important heterogeneities across several of our covariates, offering detailed insights into the roles of age, trust in official statistics and institutions, and individual wealth.

Keywords: wealth distribution; preferences for redistribution; inequality; survey experiment; information provision (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D31 D63 D83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-16
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2026-003

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