Allocating an indivisible good: A questionnaire-experimental study of intercultural differences

• Erik Schokkaert ^[1] ; Bart Capeau ^[1] ; Devooght Kurt ^[1] ; Sara Lelli ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidad KU Leuven. Bélgica.
  2. [2] European House-Ambrosetti, Milan. Italia.
• Localización: Economía, ISSN 0254-4415, Vol. 45, Nº. 90 (SPECIAL), 2022 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Economic inequality and redistribution policies), págs. 31-47
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We present the results of a questionnaire study in Belgium, Burkina Faso and Indonesia focusingon the problem of the just allocation of an indivisible good. The formal axioms proposed in socialchoice theory offer an attractive framework to structure the response patterns. Interindividualdifferences can be interpreted in a meaningful way in terms of basic intuitions about desert,efficiency and compensation. Belgian students are most resource-egalitarian, Burkinese studentsattach a large weight to innate capacities, Indonesian students focus on actual production. Thecrucial no-envy criterion is supported by a majority of respondents, but this majority becomessmall if there is an unavoidable conflict between no-envy and the “responsibility” requirement ofthe stand-alone upper bound. We discuss the pros and cons of questionnaire-experimental studiesas compared to large representative surveys.