Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/18269 
Year of Publication: 
2002
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 285
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
We link life-satisfaction data to inequality of the pre-government income distribution at the regional level, to estimate the degree of inequality aversion. In addition, we investigate whether a reduction in inequality by the state increases individual well-being. We find that Germans are inequality averse over the entire income distribution. However, inequality reduction by the state does not increase well-being. On the contrary, inequality reduction places something of an excess burden on middle-income earners. The paper uses data from the German Socio-economic Panel Study (GSOEP) from 1985 to 1998.
Subjects: 
Inequality aversion
redistribution
life satisfaction
panel data
JEL: 
D31
D63
I31
C23
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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