• A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behavior 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Mollestrom, Johanna; Reme, Bjørn-Atle; Tungodden, Bertil (DP SAM;09/2019, Working paper, 2019-04-29)
      The meritocratic fairness ideal implies that inequalities in earnings are regarded as fair only when they reflect differences in performance. Consequently, implementation of the meritocratic fairness ideal requires complete ...
    • A study of moral motivation in paternalistic behavior : a study of how two variations of information asymmetry affect the willingness to make paternalistic decisions 

      Altenau, Johanne Rokne; Jensen, Sunniva Helene (Master thesis, 2017)
      The purpose of this thesis is to study moral motivation in hard paternalistic interferences, and further contribute to the understanding of the nature behind paternalistic behavior. Based on the evidence that people are ...
    • Acceptance of inequality between children: Large-Scale Experimental Evidence from China and Norway 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Falch, Ranveig; Huang, Zhongjing; Tungodden, Bertil (SAM DP;10/2022, Working paper, 2022-07)
      In a novel experimental design with nearly 10,000 adults and children, we study how adults in two societies characterized by very different levels of income inequality, Shanghai (China) and Norway, make real distributive ...
    • Affecting the gender difference in risk-taking behavior: a study of how the gender gap in risk-taking behavior can be influenced by a default effect 

      Øien, Julianne Kallestad; Østli, Siri Stenberg (Master thesis, 2015)
      The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of influencing the gender difference in risk-taking behavior. By doing so, we combine research from two different fields, namely literature on gender differences ...
    • Cancel the deal? An experimental study on the exploitation of irrational consumers 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Meissner, Stefan; Tungodden, Bertil (SAM DP;06/2023, Working paper, 2023-04-06)
      Consumers can sometimes be exploited because they make mistakes in their valuation of products. We present the results from a large-scale experimental study that examines whether third-party spectators from the general ...
    • The challenge of a rising skill premium for redistributive taxation 

      Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Cappelen, Alexander W. (Discussion paper, Working paper, 2007-02)
      The present paper analyses the challenge to redistribution programs posed by an increase in skill premium. The increase in skill premium, which we observe in most OECD countries, affects taxation through its effect on ...
    • The challenge of a rising skill premium for redistributive taxation 

      Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Cappelen, Alexander W. (Working paper, Working paper, 2006-02)
      The present paper analysis the challenge to redistribution programs posed by an increase in skill premium. The increase in skill premium, which we observe in most OECD countries, affects taxation through its effect on ...
    • Cutthroat capitalism versus cuddly socialism: Are Americans more meritocratic and efficiency-seeking than Scandinavians? 

      Almas, Ingvild; Cappelen, Alexander W.; Tungodden, Bertil (DP SAM;04/2019, Working paper, 2019-02)
      There are striking differences in inequality and redistribution between the United States and Scandinavia. To study whether there are corresponding differences in social preferences, we conducted a large-scale international ...
    • Decentralization and the fate of minorities 

      Bjorvatn, Kjetil; Cappelen, Alexander W. (Discussion paper, Working paper, 2002-12)
      This paper analyses the welfare effects of a change from centralized to decentralized political authority. The potential disadvantage with decentralization in our model is that local dominant groups with rather “extreme” ...
    • Disability compensation and responsibility 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Norheim, Ole Frithjof; Tungodden, Bertil (Discussion paper, Working paper, 2008-12)
      It is a central political goal to secure disabled individuals the same opportunities as others to pursue their conception of a good life. This goal reflects an ambition to combine an egalitarian and a liberal moral intuition. ...
    • Do non-enforceable contracts matter? Evidence from an international lab experiment 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Hagen, Rune Jansen; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Tungodden, Bertil (Discussion paper;2/2012, Working paper, 2012-02)
      Many verifiable contracts are impossible or difficult to enforce. This applies to contracts among family and friends, contracts regulating market transactions, and sovereign debt contracts. Do such non-enforceable contracts ...
    • Efficiency, equality and reciprocity in social preferences : a comparison of students and representative population 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Tungodden, Bertil; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Nygaard, Knut (Discussion paper, Working paper, 2010-11)
      The debate between Engelmann and Strobel (2004, 2006) and Fehr, Naef, and Schmidt (2006) highlights the important question of the extent to which lab experiments on student populations can serve to identify the motivational ...
    • Equity theory and fair inequality: a neuroconomic study 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Eichele, Tom; Hugdahl, Kenneth; Specht, Karsten; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Tungodden, Bertil (Discussion paper;19/15, Working paper, 2015-08)
      The present paper reports results from the first study designed to examine the neuronal responses to income inequality in situations in which individuals have made different contributions in terms of work effort. ...
    • Exercise Improves Academic Performance. 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Charness, Gary; Ekström, Mathias; Gneezy, Uri; Tungodden, Bertil (DP SAM;8/2017, Working paper, 2017-08)
      We report the results of a randomized controlled trial testing whether incentivizing physical exercise improves the academic performance of college students. As expected, the intervention increases physical activity. The ...
    • Experimental Evidence on the Acceptance of Males Falling Behind 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Falch, Ranveig; Tungodden, Bertil (SAM DP;13/2023, Working paper, 2023)
      In recent decades, an increasing share of males struggle in the labor market and education. We show in a set of large-scale experimental studies involving more than 30,000 Americans that people are more accepting of males ...
    • Face-saving or fair-minded : what motivates moral behavior? 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Halvorsen, Trond; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Tungodden, Bertil (Discussion paper;5/2013, Working paper, 2013-02)
      We study the relative importance of intrinsic moral motivation and extrinsic social motivation in explaining behavior in the dictator game. We introduce a novel design that manipulates these two dimensions. The paper ...
    • Fair tax evasion 

      Cappelen, Alexander W.; Barth, Erling; Ognedal, Tone (Discussion paper, Working paper, 2006-04)
      In this paper we analyse how fairness considerations, in particular considerations of just income distribution, affect whether or not people believe tax evasion can be justified and their willingness to engage in tax ...
    • Fair tax evasion 

      Barth, Erling; Cappelen, Alexander W.; Ognedal, Tone (Discussion paper;11/2013, Working paper, 2013-04)
      In this paper we analyse how fairness considerations, in particular considerations of just income distribution, affect whether or not people find tax evasion justifiable and their willingness to evade taxes. Using data ...
    • Fairness Across the World 

      Almås, Ingvild; Cappelen, Alexander W.; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Tungodden, Bertil (SAM DP;03/2023, Working paper, 2023-03)
    • Fairness and family background 

      Almås, Ingvild; Cappelen, Alexander W.; Salvanes, Kjell G.; Sørensen, Erik Ø.; Tungodden, Bertil (Discussion paper;25/15, Working paper, 2015-10)
      Fairness preferences fundamentally affect individual behavior and play an important role in shaping social and political institutions. However, people differ both with respect to what they view as fair and with respect ...