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Inequality, fairness and social capital

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Abstract: We study the impact of unjust inequality on social trust and trustworthiness, and its separate effect on the economically successful and the unsuccessful, in a controlled economic experiment. We find evidence for a negative effect of unfair economic inequality on social interactions. Probi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fehr, Dietmar (Author) , Rau, Hannes (Author) , Trautmann, Stefan T. (Author) , Xu, Yilong (Author)
Format: Book/Monograph Working Paper
Language:English
Published: Heidelberg University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics 2018
Series:Discussion paper series / University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics no. 650
In: Discussion paper series (no. 650)

DOI:10.11588/heidok.00025085
Subjects:
Graue Literatur
Online Access:Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00025085
Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-250853
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/25085/1/Fehr%2C%20Rau%2CTrautmann%2C%20and%20Xu_2018_dp_0650.pdf
Resolving-System, kostenfrei: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/207626
Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-250853
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Author Notes:Dietmar Fehr, Hannes Rau, Stefan T. Trautmann and Yilong Xu
Description
Summary:Abstract: We study the impact of unjust inequality on social trust and trustworthiness, and its separate effect on the economically successful and the unsuccessful, in a controlled economic experiment. We find evidence for a negative effect of unfair economic inequality on social interactions. Probing the boundaries of this effect, we document that this erosion of social capital critically depends on the context: if a well-off person is not directly responsible for the outcome of the worse-off person, then we observe no negative effects on trust and trustworthiness in the aggregate. Moreover, our data do not support the view that higher status or wealth leads to an erosion of pro-social attitudes: the successful are always more generous; groups of unsuccessful persons are least efficient and least generous in the trust game.
Item Description:Keywords: inequality, fairness, social capital, JEL classifications C91, D31, D63
Physical Description:Online Resource
DOI:10.11588/heidok.00025085

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