Journal Article
| 2023
Does wealth reduce support for redistribution? Evidence from an Ethiopian housing lottery
Exploiting the variation in wealth created by an Ethiopian housing lottery, we show that general attitudes towards redistribution and inequality aversion are not affected by a large and positive wealth shock. New homeowners are, however, less supportive of taxing homeowners, highlighting a potential conflict between self-interest and preferences for redistribution. We also find eviden ceof endogenous beliefs; relative to losers, the welthier winners are less likely to emphasize the role of luck in explaining economic success.We interpret this finding in terms of a self-serving bias.
