Fairness views, pension benefits, and heterogeneity in life expectancy (with Simone Quercia and Alessandro Sommacal)
The study investigates whether people support the use of sociodemographic characteristics to determine differences in pension benefits. We exploit the Italian pension system where the accrued pension capital of an individual is distributed through monthly instalments calculated as a function of average life expectancy. Since life expectancy differs significantly among sociodemographic groups, reforms have been suggested to account for sociodemographic factors as predictors of life expectancy in order to tailor pension payments accordingly. Drawing on a survey experiment involving 3,004 Italian residents aged 18 to 66, we explore how individual fairness views and positions within the pension system influence support for these reforms. We use an incentivized spectator design to elicit fairness ideals of participants in an abstract context. Then, we elicit their support for pension reform scenarios that propose differentiated pension benefits based on sociodemographic characteristics in order to achieve actuarial fairness. Our results show that (i) participants are more willing to adjust retirement benefits based on factors such as workplace conditions, household wealth, and personal income, rather than chronic disease, gender, and region of residence, (ii) individuals who perceive themselves as potential beneficiaries are more likely to support proposed reforms, and (iii) egalitarians and liberal-egalitarians are more likely to approve pension system reforms aimed at promoting actuarial fairness than libertarians. This study contributes to the understanding of the factors that shape public acceptance of equitable reforms and highlights the trade-offs between actuarial fairness and perceived fairness in mitigating longevity disparities.
The effect of attention and information on policy evaluations: A comparative study of Italy and Germany (with Simone Quercia and Alessandro Sommacal)
The study investigates the factors shaping fiscal policy preferences by comparing Italy and Germany, which have notably different approaches to public debt sustainability. Italy has historically relied more on deficit spending to finance its government expenditures that has contributed to higher public debt levels compared to Germany. We hypothesise that these differences may be driven by variations in how individuals assess fiscal policies. Specifically, we examine whether policy evaluations are influenced by selective attention to policy trade-offs and/or a lack of information about their fiscal consequences. We employ a between-subject design with three treatment conditions to disentangle these mechanisms. Beyond treatment effects, we examine how public policy support correlates with individual differences in public debt knowledge, selfishness, and direct exposure to the policy.
Fairness in long-term contracts under uncertainty and allocation errors (with Daniele Nosenzo and Simone Quercia)
Chaykina M., Cuccu L., Pontarollo N. (2022) Two faces of discontent in Italy: one looking to the North and one to the South. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083221116890