The Role of Information in Choices Over Income Distributions

Herne, Kaisa; Suojanen, M.

doi:10.1177/0022002703262859

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…We only know of one other study that is somewhat related to our own. Herne and Suojanen (2004) have looked at the role of the veil of ignorance within Rawls's set-up. Their experimental study investigates whether groups of individuals in two simulated original positions, one with and the other without a veil of ignorance, make different choices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi’s utilitarian ethics

2008

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According to standard theory founded on Harsanyi (1953Harsanyi ( , 1955 a social welfare function can be appropriately based on the individual's approach to choice under uncertainty. We investigate whether people really do rank distributions according to the same principles irrespective of whether the comparison involves money payoffs in a risky situation or the distribution of income among persons. We use a questionnaire experiment to focus on the two different interpretations of the Harsanyi approach. There are important, systematic differences that transcend the cultural background of respondents.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi’s utilitarian ethics

2008

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“…Some experimental studies have been conducted to test the feasibility of the Rawlsian approach to judgements on social welfare (see, e.g., Bond and Park 1991;dela Cruz-Dona and Martina 2000;Frohlich and Oppenheimer 1990;Frohlich and Oppenheimer 1992;Frohlich et al 1987a;Frohlich et al 1987b;Herne and Suojanen 2004;Jackson and Hill 1995;Lissowski et al 1991;Oleson 2001;Schildberg-Hörisch 2010;Swope et al 2008). In addition, several scholars have been studied on the implementation of VOI in the laboratory (see, e.g., Beckman et al 2002;Carlsson et al 2003;Johannesson and Gerdtham 1995;Johansson-Stenman et al 2002;Traub et al 2009;Traub et al 2005).…”

Section: Rawlsian Approach To Distributive Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Seniority: A Blessing or a Curse? The Effect of Economics Training on the Perception of Distributive Justice

Seçilmiş¹

2013

SSRN Journal

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This paper examines the impact of the level of economics knowledge on the perception of equity in a Rawlsian sense when distributional issues are of concern to the students at different stages of their education. The purpose is to question the widely held belief that economics teaching has an influence on ethical views of individuals. To examine the relationship between fairness judgments and the level of the economics education, I use a survey-type experimental design, originally developed by Gaertner (1992), in which six different situations are investigated. By carrying out the questionnaire survey among both undergraduate and graduate students of public finance, I find that a clear learning effect does not exist. However, on the other hand, I cannot conclude against the indoctrination hypothesis in favor of the self-selection hypothesis; because the study seeks only to achieve a better understanding of the learning effect. Moreover, my results suggest that personal features, parental background and future income expectations of the students are mostly not strong variables enough to affect the response patterns.

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“…In the follow-up study, Frohlich and Oppenheimer extended that set-up to economies with production, and found qualitatively similar results. Herne and Suojanen (2004) investigate the behavior of participants for two different original positions: first, the Rawlsian original position behind the veil of ignorance, and second, the Scanlonian original position, which consists of negotiating parties that have full knowledge of their personal characteristics as well as economic and social circumstances, equal bargaining power, and a desire to reach agreement that no one could reasonably reject. Interestingly, the authors found that the Rawlsian outcome was implemented much more often when there was no veil of ignorance (60%) than when there was (14%).…”

Section: Experiments Investigating Principles Of Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Preferences for Redistribution and Pensions. What Can We Learn from Experiments?

2010

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Redistribution is an inevitable feature of collective pension schemes and economic experiments have revealed that most people have a preference for redistribution that is not merely inspired by self-interest. Interestingly, little is known on how these preferences interact with preferences for different pension schemes. In this paper we review the experimental evidence on preferences for redistribution and suggest some links to redistribution through pensions. For that purpose we distinguish between three types of situations. The first deals with distributional preferences behind a veil of ignorance. In the second type of situation, individuals make choices in front of the veil of ignorance and know their position. Finally, we discuss situations in which income is determined by interdependent rather than individual choices. In the closing parts of the paper we discuss whether and how these experimental results speak to the redistribution issues of pensions. For example, do they argue for or against mandatory participation? Should we have less redistribution and more actuarial fairness? How does this depend on the type of redistribution involved? Terms of use: Documents inJEL-Code: C90, D01, D03, D63, D64, H55.

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The Role of Information in Choices Over Income Distributions

Cited by 32 publications

References 18 publications

To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi’s utilitarian ethics

To be or not to be involved: a questionnaire-experimental view on Harsanyi’s utilitarian ethics

Seniority: A Blessing or a Curse? The Effect of Economics Training on the Perception of Distributive Justice

Preferences for Redistribution and Pensions. What Can We Learn from Experiments?

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