Are Elites Meritocratic and Efficiency-Seeking? Evidence from MBA Students
7 hours ago
- #elites
- #economics
- #inequality
- Elites, particularly Ivy League MBA students, influence policymaking but their fairness and efficiency preferences are not well understood.
- An incentivized lab experiment shows MBA students prefer more unequal earnings distributions than the average American, regardless of whether inequality is due to luck or merit.
- MBA students' redistributive choices are highly responsive to efficiency costs, much more so than the general U.S. population.
- MBA students are less likely to be strict meritocrats compared to the broader population.
- The study provides insights into how elite preferences may contribute to high levels of inequality in the U.S.