Income Inequality, Redistribution, and Poverty: Contrasting Rational Choice and Behavioral Perspectives
基于110个LIS数据观测，检验了理性选择理论中中位选民假说（不平等加剧导致再分配增加），发现该假说不成立，而选民实际偏好更能解释再分配结果，挑战了理性选择的人性假设，支持行为经济学强调的公平取向。
Based on the standard axiom of individual utility maximization, rational choice has postulated that higher income inequality translates into greater redistribution by shaping the median voter's preferences. While numerous papers have tested this proposition, the literature has remained divided over the appropriate measure for redistribution. Revisiting the original contribution by M eltzer and R ichard in 1981, the present paper argues that the median voter hypothesis implies that relative redistribution should increase in line with inequality. However, an empirical test based on 110 observations from the L uxembourg I ncome S tudy ( LIS ) finds no support for the hypothesis. By contrast, voters' actual preferences offer a better guide to understanding redistributive outcomes. The findings challenge the narrow concept of human motivation that underpins rational choice, and point to the importance of fairness orientations that have been emphasized in behavioral economics.