CEEG Seminar Series: Inequality framing and social preferences: a comparative study between Mozambique and Vietnam

On Wednesday, 20 November Inês Ferreira, Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH-DERG) and non-resident advisor at Inclusive growth in Mozambique, will present a working paper titled ‘Inequality framing and social preferences: a comparative study between Mozambique and Vietnam.’

The seminar is part of the CEEG Seminar Series, organized under the Inclusive growth in Mozambique (IGM) programme. The seminars offer a forum to share and discuss ongoing research on topics related to the work of the IGM programme and to foster a culture of research at the faculty and at UEM in general.

The seminar take place at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Eduardo Mondlane (UEM) and the presentation will be online. They are public and open to all. The presentation is in Portuguese.

Register here

About the study

Individual perceptions of inequality matter for social preferences, including altruism and preferences for redistribution. Thus, it is crucial to unpack how they are formed. Previous studies have provided mixed evidence on the effects of information treatments on policy preferences. 

The study builds on literature and tests an overlooked dimension, namely the framing of inequality in absolute or relative terms. In light of the evidence suggesting that some individuals perceive inequality in absolute rather than in relative terms (which characterizes the most discussed measures), whether giving information on inequality with a relative or an absolute framing effects altruistic behaviour was tested. 

The study included a lab-in-the-field experiment combining standard dictator games and survey data in Mozambique and Vietnam.