Does wealth reduce support for redistribution? Evidence from an Ethiopian housing lottery
利用埃塞俄比亚住房抽签带来的财富变化,研究发现财富冲击不改变人们对再分配和不平等的一般态度,但新业主更不支持对房主征税,且赢家更少强调运气在成功中的作用。
Exploiting the variation in wealth created by an Ethiopian housing lottery, we show that general attitudes towards redistribution and inequality aversion are not affected by a large positive wealth shock. New homeowners are, however, less supportive of taxing homeowners, highlighting a potential conflict between self-interest and preferences for redistribution. We also find evidence of endogenous beliefs: relative to losers, the wealthier winners are less likely to emphasize the role of luck in explaining economic success. We interpret this finding in terms of a self-serving bias.