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IZA
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Are People Inequality Averse, and Do They Prefer Redistribution by the State? A Revised Version
by
Johannes Schwarze, Marco Härpfer
(December 2003)
published in: Journal of Socio-Economics, 2007, 36 (2), 233-249
Abstract:
We link life-satisfaction data to inequality of the pre- and post-government income distribution
at the regional level, to estimate the degree of inequality aversion. Three different inequality
measures are used. In addition, we investigate whether a reduction in inequality by the state
increases individual well-being. We find only weak evidence that Germans are inequality
averse. Inequality reduction by the state does not increase wellbeing. On the contrary,
inequality reduction imposes an excess burden on middle-income earners. The paper uses
data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP) from 1985 to 1998.
Text: See Discussion Paper No. 974 
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