Seminar by Alícia Adsera (Princeton University)

Centre for Development Economics
Department of Economics
Delhi School of Economics

ANNOUNCE A SEMINAR

by

Venue:  Amex Room

Abstract:-
We estimate the value of safety, democracy and economic well-being exploiting a conjoint experiment in representative surveys in eight countries (Argentina, urban China, India, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa and the United States) in which respondents choose between different societies that randomly vary in their economic outcomes (country income, income inequality, social mobility), level of safety, political outcomes (public healthcare, free elections), and the level of personal income for each respondent. We find that, across the world, individuals have, on average, a strong  and marginally decreasing preference for higher personal incomes. The value of personal safety is roughly similar across countries. Respondents value having free elections positively but the level of support varies across countries: whereas Chinese respondents are willing to give up democracy for an income increase equivalent to one quarter of the average country income, Americans are only willing to if their income more than doubles. We conclude by estimating the impact of actual income, personal experience with safety and individual dispositions toward democracy on the choices made by respondents. Our findings contribute to several research agendas: the estimation of policy and redistributive preferences; the overall nature and hierarchy of human preferences; the underlying demand for democratic institutions.

All are cordially invited.

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