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Preferences for redistribution and social structure

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  • SCHOKKAERT, Erik

    (Department of Economics, KU Leuven; Université catholique de Louvain, CORE, Belgium)

  • TRUYTS, Tom

    (CEREC, Saint Louis University; Université catholique de Louvain, CORE, Belgium)

Abstract

We model inter-individual differences in preferences for redistribution as a function of (a) self-interest; (b) stable ideological traits; (c) subjective perceptions of the relative importance of the main determinants of income differences (luck, effort, talent). Individuals base the latter on information obtained from their reference group. We analyse the consequences for redistributive preferences of homophilous reference group formation based on talent. We argue that our theoretical results make it possible to understand and integrate some of the main insights from the empirical literature. We illustrate with GSS data from 1987 how our model may help in structuring empirical work.

Suggested Citation

  • SCHOKKAERT, Erik & TRUYTS, Tom, 2014. "Preferences for redistribution and social structure," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2014001, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
  • Handle: RePEc:cor:louvco:2014001
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Javier Olivera, 2015. "Preferences for redistribution in Europe," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Javier Olivera & Philippe Kerm, 2022. "Public support for tax policies in COVID-19 times: evidence from Luxembourg," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(6), pages 1395-1418, December.
    3. Begoña Cabeza & Koen Decancq, 2018. "Effort or Luck? Believing in the role of effort during the Spanish economic recession," Working Papers 1818, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    4. Gilles Le Garrec, 2018. "Fairness, social norms and the cultural demand for redistribution," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 50(2), pages 191-212, February.
    5. Andreoli, Francesco & Olivera, Javier, 2020. "Preferences for redistribution and exposure to tax-benefit schemes in Europe," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Gilles Le Garrec, 2023. "Accounting for the long-term stability of the welfare-state regimes in a model with distributive preferences and social norms," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03954024, HAL.
    7. Erik Schokkaert & Tom Truyts, 2017. "Preferences for redistribution and social structure," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 49(3), pages 545-576, December.
    8. Roberto Antonietti & Francesco Farina & Fulvio Fontini, 2016. "A Rational Explanation for the Redistribution Paradox. Theory and Empirical Evidence," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(5), pages 539-555, November.
    9. Javier Olivera, 2014. "Preferences for redistribution after the economic crisis," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 3(3), pages 137-145.
    10. TELHA, Claudio & VAN VYVE, Matthieu, 2014. "Efficient approximation algorithms for the economic lot-sizing in continuous time," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2014016, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    11. Gilles Le Garrec, 2023. "Accounting for the long-term stability of the welfare-state regimes in a model with distributive preferences and social norms," Working Papers hal-03954024, HAL.
    12. Andreea-Oana Iacobuță & Mihaela Ifrim, 2020. "Welfare Mentality as a Challenge to European Sustainable Development. What Role for Youth Inclusion and Institutions?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-25, April.
    13. Amendolagine, Vito & von Jacobi, Nadia, 2023. "Symbiotic relationships among formal and informal institutions: Comparing five Brazilian cultural ecosystems," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    14. GRIGIS DE STEFANO, Federico, 2014. "Strategic stability of equilibria: the missing paragraph," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2014015, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    D30; D63; D70;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General

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