MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

Department of Economics Seminar Series 

"Identity and Inequality Misperceptions, Demographic Determinants and Efficacy of Corrective Measures"

by

Kerim Peren Arın

(Zayed University & Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis)

Date: November 20, 2023 (Monday)

Time: 14:00

Synchronous Online Seminar

Zoom Platform

Zoom Link

Meeting ID: 962 6861 4522

Passcode: 319178

Abstract

By conducting two waves of large-scale surveys in the United Kingdom and Germany, we investigate the determinants of identity and inequality misperceptions of minorities and income distribution mostly associated with populist right and left voters. We first show that people substantially overestimate the share of immigrants, Muslims, people under the poverty line, and the income share of the richest. Moreover, female, lower-income, and lower-educated respondents generally have higher misperceptions. Only income share misperceptions are associated more with people who place themselves on the left of the political spectrum, while the other three misperceptions are more prevalent in those who place themselves to the right. We then attempt to correct misperceptions by conducting a classic controlled experiment. Specifically, we randomly assign respondents into a treatment group that we inform about their initial misperceptions and a control group that is left uninformed. Our results indicate that information treatments reduce misperceptions in Germany but had no significant effects in the United Kingdom. Moreover, information treatments in Germany were especially effective for males, centrists, and highly educated respondents. There is also no evidence for spill-over effects: correcting one misperception does not have not corrective spill-overs for the others.