Primary Outcomes (explanation)
1. Perceptions
1-1. Perceptions on personal and household income positions in the country
We ask a question on their perceived relative positions of personal and household income in the national income distribution. We also ask questions on last year’s personal and household income, of which the categories are based on actual income decile distribution in the country (EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, 2022). Combining those questions, we show stylised facts on Spanish respondents’ misperceptions on their own income positions in society.
1-2. Perceptions on upward mobility
To elicit respondents’ beliefs on intergenerational upward mobility, we introduce an image of social ladders to the question, in the same manner as preceding research. Hypothesising 500 families that represent the country's population, we ask the perceived probability of upward mobility of the children coming from poorest families. Specifically, using an image of ladders, we ask respondents how many children coming from the poorest 100 families will belong to different income groups, once they grow up (respondents need to fill out empty fields to indicate their views). We then redo the same question of upward mobility conditional on children’s effort and talent.
2. Policy preferences
The main questions on policy preferences are as below.
2-1. Government budget allocation
We ask preferred budget allocation on ⅰ) Defense and National Security, ⅱ) Infrastructure, ⅲ) Education (early childhood, primary and secondary education), ⅳ) Education (tertiary education), ⅴ) Old age and disability pensions, ⅵ) Social Insurance and Public Assistance, and ⅶ) Health. The respondents have to divide the budget in to 7 categories and the total percentile of the budget must sum to 100.
2-2. Income taxes
To elicit income tax preferences, we ask respondents to move taxation sliders, which correspond to preferred income tax rates on each income group, in a way that they view fair. Income groups are the top 1%, the next 9%, the next 40%, and the bottom 50%. Notice that respondents are constrained to current level of revenue in their country, and to build up this constraint, actual statistics, such as GNI and income tax revenue statistics, are utilised behind the question.
In addition to the question above, we ask policy preferences questions, such as support for the Estate Tax, equality of opportunity policies. For the details of the main questions, please see the Supporting Documents and Materials, which is available upon request (by clicking the button).