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East and West Germans’ Attitudes and Preferences Regarding the Welfare State
Pfarr, Christian | Schmid, Andreas | Ulrich, Volker
Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 137 (2017), Iss. 3 : pp. 261–299
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Faculty of Law, Business & Economics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
Faculty of Law, Business & Economics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
Faculty of Law, Business & Economics, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
Abstract
Do citizens from former Communist countries exhibit attitudes and preferences with regard to income redistribution that differ from those in the West? This paper seeks to answer this question for reunified Germany. The analysis uses not only survey data on attitudes but also evidence on preferences from a choice task, which forces individuals to consider trade-offs and budget constraints. While we confirm results of prior studies documenting considerable differences in attitudes, we find no differences regarding preferences between East and West Germans. When facing economic restrictions, East and West Germans behave the same.