TY - JOUR

T1 - Unequal chances

T2 - ex ante fairness and individual control

AU - Rettore Micheli, Letícia

AU - Gagnon, Nickolas

N1 - Funding Information: We thank Arno Riedl for valuable comments and funding, Marcello Negrini for assistance, and Kristof Bosmans as well as participants in the BEELab meeting (Maastricht University) for valuable comments. Nickolas Gagnon gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture.

PY - 2020/12/14

Y1 - 2020/12/14

N2 - Unequal financial outcomes often originate from unequal chances. Yet, compared to outcomes, little is known about how individuals perceive unequal distributions of chances. We investigate empirically the role of different sources of unequal chances in shaping inequality perceptions. Importantly, we do so from an ex ante perspective—i.e., before the chances are realized—which has rarely been explored. In an online survey, we asked uninvolved respondents to evaluate ex ante the fairness of unequal allocations of chances. We varied the source of inequality of chances, using a comprehensive range of factors which resemble several real world situations. Respondents also evaluated how much control individuals hold over the distribution of chances. Results show that different sources generate different ex ante perception of fairness. That is, unequal chances based on socioeconomic and biological factors, such as gender, family income and ethnicity, are evaluated to be unfair relative to the same chances based on effort, knowledge, and benevolence. Results also show that, for most individuals, there is a positive correlation between perceived control of a factor and fairness of unequal chances based on that factor. Luck appears to be an exception to this correlation, ranking as high in fairness as effort, knowledge, and benevolence, but similarly low in individual control as ethnicity, family income, and gender.

AB - Unequal financial outcomes often originate from unequal chances. Yet, compared to outcomes, little is known about how individuals perceive unequal distributions of chances. We investigate empirically the role of different sources of unequal chances in shaping inequality perceptions. Importantly, we do so from an ex ante perspective—i.e., before the chances are realized—which has rarely been explored. In an online survey, we asked uninvolved respondents to evaluate ex ante the fairness of unequal allocations of chances. We varied the source of inequality of chances, using a comprehensive range of factors which resemble several real world situations. Respondents also evaluated how much control individuals hold over the distribution of chances. Results show that different sources generate different ex ante perception of fairness. That is, unequal chances based on socioeconomic and biological factors, such as gender, family income and ethnicity, are evaluated to be unfair relative to the same chances based on effort, knowledge, and benevolence. Results also show that, for most individuals, there is a positive correlation between perceived control of a factor and fairness of unequal chances based on that factor. Luck appears to be an exception to this correlation, ranking as high in fairness as effort, knowledge, and benevolence, but similarly low in individual control as ethnicity, family income, and gender.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098476266&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41598-020-78335-w

DO - 10.1038/s41598-020-78335-w

M3 - Article

C2 - 33318533

AN - SCOPUS:85098476266

VL - 10

JO - Scientific Reports

JF - Scientific Reports

SN - 2045-2322

M1 - 21862

ER -