(Bad) Luck or (Lack of) Effort?: Comparing Social Sharing Norms between US and Europe

31 Pages Posted: 1 Oct 2011

See all articles by Roman M. Sheremeta

Roman M. Sheremeta

Case Western Reserve University

Neslihan Uler

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Pedro Rey-Biel

Autonomous University of Barcelona

Date Written: September 29, 2011

Abstract

We compare the determinants of individual giving between two countries, Spain and the US, which differ in their redistribution policies and their beliefs over the causes of poverty. By varying the information about the determinants of income, we find that, although overall giving is similar in both countries when subjects know the actual role of luck and effort, Spanish subjects give more when they are uninformed compared to American subjects. Using elicited beliefs, we find that this is due to Spanish subjects associating poverty with bad luck and Americans believing that low performers did not work hard enough.

Keywords: individual giving, cross-cultural, beliefs, laboratory experiment

JEL Classification: C72, C91, D63, D81, H50

Suggested Citation

Sheremeta, Roman M. and Uler, Neslihan and Rey-Biel, Pedro, (Bad) Luck or (Lack of) Effort?: Comparing Social Sharing Norms between US and Europe (September 29, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1935498 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1935498

Roman M. Sheremeta (Contact Author)

Case Western Reserve University ( email )

10900 Euclid Ave.
Cleveland, OH 44106
United States

Neslihan Uler

University of Michigan at Ann Arbor ( email )

500 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
United States

Pedro Rey-Biel

Autonomous University of Barcelona

Plaça Cívica
Cerdañola del Valles
Barcelona, Barcelona 08193
Spain

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