Review of Behavioral Economics > Vol 10 > Issue 1

Economic Individualism, Perceived Fairness, and Policy Preference: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Mei Wang, WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Managment, Chair of Behavioral Finance, Germany, mei.wang@whu.edu , Marc Oliver Rieger, University of Trier, Chair of Banking and Finance, Germany, mrieger@uni-trier.de , Sebastian Reitz, University of Trier, Chair of Banking and Finance, Germany, reitz.sebastian@gmail.com , Yanping He-Ulbricht, University of Trier, Germany, s2yaheee@uni-trier.de
 
Suggested Citation
Mei Wang, Marc Oliver Rieger, Sebastian Reitz and Yanping He-Ulbricht (2023), "Economic Individualism, Perceived Fairness, and Policy Preference: A Cross-Cultural Comparison", Review of Behavioral Economics: Vol. 10: No. 1, pp 3-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/105.00000166

Publication Date: 17 Apr 2023
© 2023 M. Wang, M. O. Rieger, S. Reitz and Y. He-Ulbricht
 
Subjects
Behavioral economics,  Financial markets: Anomalies and behavioral finance,  International business: Cross culture management,  Organizational behavior: International culture,  Behavioral decision making,  Consumer behavior,  Comparative political economy
 
Keywords
JEL Codes: D90, F40
Economic individualismprice fairnesspolicy preferenceincome inequalitycross-cultural comparisoncultural economics
 

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In this article:
1. Introduction 
2. The Role of Culture and Political Systems 
3. Methodology 
4. Results 
5. Conclusion and Discussion 
Appendix 
References 

Abstract

Based on survey data from Germany, Estonia, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan, this empirical analysis found substantial intercountry and interculture differences in economic individualism, perceived price fairness, and attitudes towards government policies involving price fairness and income inequality. Cultural differences are in line with the Hofstede dimension uncertainty avoidance. Several socio-demographic variables such as gender, major and religion demonstrated significant impacts. It is also revealed that economic individualism and fairness perception of price changes influence policy preferences. Taken together, our work showed that culture shapes individuals’ fairness beliefs and perceptions, and these in turn affect their preferences for government economic policies regarding price fairness and inequality.

DOI:10.1561/105.00000166