Full Citation
Title: Preferences for Rights
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2023
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Abstract: Public discourse about in-kind transfers often appeals to "preferences for rights"-for instance, the "right to health care" or "right to counsel" for indigent legal defense. Preferences for rights are "non-welfarist" if the person values the right per se, holding fixed how the right instrumentally affects others' utilities. We test for non-welfarist preferences for rights, and their relationship to redistributive choices, with incentivized online experiments (N = 1,800). Participants face choices about allocating rights goods (lawyers, health care) and benchmark goods (bus passes, YMCA memberships) to tenants facing eviction. We implement a share of choices. In two of three experiments, more than half of participants allocate rights goods in ways that are consistent with preferences for rights and dominated if preferences were entirely welfarist. Dominated behaviors are more common with rights goods than benchmarks. In a fourth experiment, those with preferences for rights also exhibit "anti-targeting," where they redistribute lawyers and health care more universally than benchmark goods to recipients whose incomes differ. At least 26% of participants are non-welfarist, while at most 31% are welfarist.
Url: https://www.charlierafkin.com/docs/cgr_rights.pdf
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Authors: Caspi, Aviv; Gilman, Julia; Rafkin, Charlie
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Housing and Segregation, Population Health and Health Systems, Poverty and Welfare
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