We study distributional preferences in “large†groups. While most prior experi- ments have focused on exploring attitudes toward inequality in two- or three-person groups, we field a series of experiments via Mechanical Turk in which subjects choose between two income distributions, each with seven (or nine) individuals, with hypo- thetical incomes that aim to approximate the actual distribution of income in the U.S. Our setting thus provides a more direct comparison to the redistributive choices faced by society. Consistent with standard maximin (Rawlsian) preferences, subjects select distributions in which the bottom individual’s income is higher (but show little regard for lower incomes above the bottom ranking). In contrast to standard models, however, we find that subjects select distributions that lower the top individual’s income, but not other high incomes. Finally, we provide tentative evidence of “locally competitive†preferences—in most experimental sessions, subjects select distributions that lower the income of the individual directly above them, while the income of the individual two positions above has little effect on subjects’ decisions. Our findings suggest that the- ories of inequality aversion should be enriched to account for individuals’ aversion to “topmost†and “local†disadvantageous inequality.

中文翻译：

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大群体的发行偏好：跟上琼斯的步伐并跟踪尾巴

我们研究“大”群体中的分配偏好。虽然以前的大多数实验都集中于探索两人或三人组对不平等的态度，但我们通过机械特克进行了一系列实验，其中受试者在两个收入分配之间进行选择，每个收入分配有七个（或九个）个人，假设收入旨在逼近美国的实际收入分配。因此，我们的设置与社会面临的再分配选择作了更直接的比较。与标准的maximin（Rawlsian）偏好一致，受试者选择收入最低的个人的收入较高的分布（但对收入最低的最低收入的关注很少）。但是，与标准模型相比，我们发现受试者选择的分布会降低最高个人的收入，但其他高收入人群却没有。最后，我们在大多数实验阶段提供了“局部竞争”偏好的初步证据，受试者选择的分布降低了个人直接位于其上方的收入，而上方两个职位的收入对受试者的影响很小。决定。我们的研究结果表明，不平等厌恶的理论应该得到丰富，以说明个人对“最高”和“局部”不利不平等的厌恶。