Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/207379 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 12553
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Economic inequality may fuel frustration, possibly leading to anger and antisocial behavior. We experimentally study a situation where only the rich can reduce inequality while the poor can express their discontent by destroying the wealth of a rich counterpart with whom they had no previous interaction. We test whether the emergence of such forms of antisocial behavior depends only on the level of inequality, or also on the conditions under which inequality occurs. We compare an environment in which the rich can unilaterally reduce inequality with one where generosity makes them vulnerable to exploitation by the poor. We find that the rich are expected to be more generous in the former scenario than in the latter, but in fact this hope is systematically violated. We also observe that the poor engage in forms of antisocial behavior more often when reducing inequality would be safe for the rich. These results cannot be rationalized by inequality aversion alone, while they are in line with recent models that focus on anger as the result of the frustration of expectations.
Subjects: 
expectations
frustration
inequality aversion
money-burning
punishment
JEL: 
C91
D63
D83
D84
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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