What is it about?
Using experiments developed by Engelmann and Strobel (2004), this study investigates the Japanese distributional preference. We find that just over half the people in the study have a maximin preference, approximately 7 to 19% have an efficiency preference, approximately 8% have a self-interest preference, and approximately 18% chose the allocation that would reduce the payoff to the rich and the poor, given that her/his payoff would remain constant. The last preference could be interpreted as what is called “malice,” “deep envy,” or a “feeling of vulnerability,” in behavioral economics and cross-cultural psychology.
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Why is it important?
Income redistribution is undoubtedly an important economic issue. However, we have few studies on the Japanese distributional preference. The purpose of the present study is to investigate this preference using an experimental method.
Perspectives
Japan’s public debt is over 200% of its GDP, which means that fiscal consolidation is both inevitable and essential. Fiscal consolidation is indivisibly linked to income redistribution. However, we do not have a definitive answer as to the type of income distribution people in Japan prefer. I hope the results of this paper is utilized in the discussion.
Dr. Keigo Kameda
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Distributional preference in Japan, Japanese Economic Review, January 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/jere.12112.
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