We examine how beliefs about the debt-to-GDP ratio affect people’s attitudes towards government spending and taxation. Using representative samples of the US population, we run a series of experiments in which we provide half of our respondents with information about the debt-to-GDP ratio in the US. Based on a total of more than 4,000 respondents, we find that most people underestimate the debt-to-GDP ratio and reduce their support for government spending once they learn about the actual amount of debt, but do not substantially alter their attitudes towards taxation. The treatment effects seem to operate through changes in expectations about fiscal sustainability and persist in a four-week follow-up.

我们研究了对债务与 GDP 比率的看法如何影响人们对政府支出和税收的态度。使用美国人口的代表性样本，我们进行了一系列实验，在这些实验中，我们向一半的受访者提供了有关美国债务与 GDP 比率的信息。根据总共 4,000 多名受访者，我们发现大多数人在了解实际债务金额后，都会低估债务与 GDP 的比率，并减少对政府支出的支持，但并没有实质性地改变他们对税收的态度。治疗效果似乎通过改变对财政可持续性的预期来发挥作用，并在为期四周的随访中持续存在。