Home | Events Archive | Fairness Preferences over Parental Wealth Transfer
Seminar

Fairness Preferences over Parental Wealth Transfer

  • Series
    CREED Seminars
  • Speaker(s)
    Johanna Mollerstrom (George Mason University, United States)
  • Field
    Behavioral Economics
  • Location
    University of Amsterdam, room E5.07
    Amsterdam
  • Date and time

    April 03, 2025
    16:00 - 17:15

Abstract

We study experimentally how spectators decide how much of the wealth inequality between donors will be passed on to beneficiaries. We find spectators consider the parental link to justify limiting redistribution between beneficiaries. This is true even in the absence of an active choice by the parent to pass down wealth to their child. While spectators consider inheritors of wealth to be less entitled to it than those whose wealth was gained through work, they are still rewarded for the merit of those from whom they inherit money. Our results have implications for the perpetuity of inequality across generations. Joint paper with Puja Bhattacharya.