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dc.titleDoes Inequality Breed Altruism or Selfishness? Gauging Individuals' Predispositions towards Redistributive Schemes
dc.contributor.authorVelasques de Paula Machado, Fabiana
dc.contributor.orgunitDepartment of Research and Chief Economist
dc.coverageBrazil
dc.date.available2012-05-04T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2012-01-18T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractWhile decreasing inequality is generally considered desirable, and there is a growing understanding of which policies do and do not promote equality, much less is known regarding why these policies are adopted to varying degrees of intensity in different times and places. To explain this variation, the constituencies for different policies under various conditions must be identified. This paper explores that question using Brazilian public opinion data on preferences regarding taxation, conditional cash transfers, pension schemes and educations. It is found that disagreement across socio-economic groups arises on how government should address inequality rather than whether it should do so. While poorer respondents support cash transfers more than the rich, the rich are more likely than the poor to support expenditures on public education. Contrary to what is commonly assumed, inequality seems to breed altruism among the rich regarding the quintessential poverty reduction scheme of conditional cash transfers.
dc.format.extent39
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0011378
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Does-Inequality-Breed-Altruism-or-Selfishness-Gauging-Individuals-Predispositions-towards-Redistributive-Schemes.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectPoverty
dc.subjectSocial Policy and Protection
dc.subjectFiscal Policy
dc.subjectEducation
dc.subject.jelcodeH53 - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
dc.subject.jelcodeI28 - Government Policy
dc.subject.jelcodeI38 - Government Policy • Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
dc.subject.keywordsPreferences for redistribution, Inequality, Conditional cash transfers, Public pensions
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberWorking Papers
idb.operationRG-K1199
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