Perceptions of Own Social Class and Local Affluence: Effects on Preferences for Redistribution
Published:
With Javier Olivera, I study how perceptions of own social class and local affluence shape support for economic redistribution in Lima. In an online survey experiment, respondents were randomly informed about either their actual socio-economic status or the true share of affluent households in their district. Respondents substantially overestimated their own socio-economic status and, to a lesser extent, local affluence; correcting these misperceptions generally increased support for redistribution, with no effect on a wealth-tax proposal.