Adapting or compounding? The effects of recurring labour shocks on stated and revealed preferences for redistribution

Cotofan, Maria and Matakos, Konstantinos (2023) Adapting or compounding? The effects of recurring labour shocks on stated and revealed preferences for redistribution. CEP Discussion Papers (CEPDP1957). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK.

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Abstract

The evidence on the impact of employment shocks on preferences for redistribution is mixed on stated outcomes and sparse on revealed ones. We conduct a survey of US workers to measure the impact of repeated labour market shocks on both stated and revealed redistributive preferences. We measure the former by support on seven different policies and the latter through donations. We look at experiences of both mild shocks (having to reduce working hours) and hard shocks (unemployment), as well as past unemployment during formative years. We find evidence of adaptation to unemployment on policy preferences and compounding for milder shocks on donations, suggesting that the effects of repeated shocks on preferences for redistribution are not independent. Our results show that unemployment impacts preferences in a self-interested way, while milder shocks lead to broader support for redistribution.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	https://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/discussion...
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D9 - Intertemporal Choice and Growth I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Time Allocation, Work Behavior, and Employment Determination and Creation; Human Capital; Retirement M - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting > M5 - Personnel Economics
Date Deposited:	16 Jan 2024 15:21
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 15:21
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/121297

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