2020 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 18-30
The results of referenda often create distributional frictions between gainers and losers. However, no study has investigated how voters' distributional preferences affect voting in a referendum. This paper uses multiplayer, multigroup experimental dictator games to examine the influence of distributional preferences on voting decisions, controlling for strategic behavior. The experimental results show that only 6.7％ of voting choices deviate from self-payoff maximization. The results also indicate that the frequency of choices consistent with distributional preferences is positively associated with lack of economic incentive, reduced anonymity, and self-justification.
