Economic Analysis of Social Issues 1st Edition by Alan Grant

Exercise 22

[Related to Application 21.2 on page 472] Research by Ariely and Norton indicates that Americans have a preference for much greater equality than currently exists but also that Americans may not fully understand how far the current distribution is from the ideal income distribution. Why do you think this is the case? Can you think of any cultural factors that perpetuate a belief that the income distribution is more equal than it actually is?