On February 6 took place NES CSDSI & HSE ICSID Research Seminar on diversity and development joint with HSE Seminar on Political Economy: "Institutional Quality and Social Policy Preferences: Experimental Evidence"

About speaker: Israel Marques II (NRU HSE)

Abstract:

Using laboratory experiments conducted in two countries, we examine how poor institutions influence individuals support for redistribution. Contrary to conventional expectations, we argue that high-earning individuals will prefer more redistribution when they can more easily evade taxes. To test our expectations, we conducted a series of experiments from February to May 2016 simulating earned income and tax evasion. We find that high earners do indeed prefer more redistribution when they can more easily under-report their income. Our findings make an important contribution to the little studied question of how institutional quality affects social policy preferences.