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Rational Moralists: The Role of Fairness in Democratic Economic Politics

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Author Info
 Eichenberger, Reiner
Oberholzer-Gee, Felix

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Abstract

In this paper, the authors empirical]y test for the influence of fairness considerations on the willingness to redistribute income in private and in democratic decisions. In contrast to standard explanations of income redistribution, the authors' theory takes into account that prices shift decisively as they move from the sphere of private contributions to politics. At the polls, it is nearly costless to observe social norms. Therefore, the authors expect individuals to behave more fairly in the political sphere than in the market place. They present experimental evidence which is consistent with this hypothesis. In distributive struggles, social norms moderate the inclination of human beings to behave like 'gangsters.' Copyright 1998 by Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Public Choice.

Volume (Year): 94 (1998)
Issue (Month): 1-2 (January)
Pages: 191-210
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Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:94:y:1998:i:1-2:p:191-210

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  1. Carter, John R & Guerette, Stephen D, 1992. " An Experimental Study of Expressive Voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 73(3), pages 251-60, April.
  2. Kliemt, Hartmut, 1986. "The veil of insignificance," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 333-344. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Meltzer, Allan H & Richard, Scott F, 1981. "A Rational Theory of the Size of Government," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(5), pages 914-27, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Frey, Bruno S & Oberholzer-Gee, Felix & Eichenberger, Reiner, 1996. "The Old Lady Visits Your Backyard: A Tale of Morals and Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1297-1313, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Aaron, Henry & McGuire, Martin, 1970. "Public Goods and Income Distribution," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 38(6), pages 907-20, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Kahneman, Daniel & Knetsch, Jack L & Thaler, Richard H, 1986. "Fairness and the Assumptions of Economics," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages S285-300, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Lindbeck, Assar, 1985. "Redistribution policy and the expansion of the public sector," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 309-328, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Sefton, Martin, 1992. "Incentives in simple bargaining games," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 263-276, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Hochman, Harold M & Rodgers, James D, 1969. "Pareto Optimal Redistribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(4), pages 542-57, Part I Se. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Mark Isaac, R. & McCue, Kenneth F. & Plott, Charles R., 1985. "Public goods provision in an experimental environment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 51-74, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Glazer, A., 1989. "An Expressive Voting Theory Of Strikes," Papers 89-4, California Irvine - School of Social Sciences.
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  12. Stigler, George J, 1970. "Director's Law of Public Income Redistribution," Journal of Law & Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, April.
  13. Rabin, Matthew, 1993. "Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1281-1302, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Iris Bohnet & Bruno S. Frey, 1999. "Social Distance and Other-Regarding Behavior in Dictator Games: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 335-339, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bruno Frey & Stephan Meier, 2001. "Political Economists are Neither Selfish Nor Indoctrinated," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Frey, Bruno S. & Meier, Stephan, 2002. "Pro-Social Behavior, Reciprocity or Both?," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. John Ashworth & Benny Geys & Bruno Heyndels, 2006. "Everyone likes a winner: An empirical test of the effect of electoral closeness on turnout in a context of expressive voting," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 383-405, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Krupka, Erin L. & Weber, Roberto A., 2008. "Identifying Social Norms Using Coordination Games: Why Does Dictator Game Sharing Vary?," IZA Discussion Papers 3860, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Colin Jennings & Alan Hamlin, 2009. "Expressive Political Behaviour: Foundations, Scope and Implications," Working Papers 09-18, University of Strathclyde Business School, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Joseph E. Mullat, 2003. "Judging Social Welfare Policy with the Solving of the Bargaining Problem," Game Theory and Information 0304004, EconWPA, revised 26 Apr 2003. [Downloadable!]
  8. Joseph E. Mullat, 2001. "Judging Social Welfare Policy with the Solving of the Bargaining Problem," Public Economics 0112007, EconWPA, revised 13 Jan 2004. [Downloadable!]
  9. Karl Widerquist, 2003. "Public Choice and Altruism," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 317-337, Summer. [Downloadable!]
  10. Jean-Robert Tyran, 2002. "Voting when Money and Morals Conflict - An Experimental Test of Expressive Voting," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2002 2002-07, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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