Who Won the U.S. Presidential Debate?

As income inequality widens, debates around redistribution policies are heating up. New research from the Universities of Zurich, Lille and Copenhagen reveals that support for these policies stems not only from individuals' financial situations but also from an inherent aversion to inequality.

Traditional economic theories assume that individuals only care about their own income when it comes to supporting redistribution policies. However, an international team of researchers from the University of Zurich (UZH), the University of Lille and the University of Copenhagen now challenges this view.

The results of their study show that people's preferences towards inequality per se play a major role. "By taking into account how much people dislike inequality, we can better predict who will support policies aimed at reducing the income gap," says Ernst Fehr, corresponding author and director of the UBS Center for Economics in Society at the Department of Economics at UZH.

Attitudes towards inequality vary

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