Luck or Effort: Information on Educational Inequality shifts Perceptions, but not Policy Demand
Grewenig, Wedel & Werner: "Luck Or Effort: Perceptions of the Role of Circumstances in Education and Demand for Targeted Spending" CRC Discussion Paper No. 543
A new discussion paper by Elisabeth Grewenig (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), Katharina Wedel (ifo Institute, Project A06), and Katharina Werner (Business School Pforzheim) examines how providing information about educational inequality in Germany affects public preferences for targeted spending from public and private sources. Their study uses a large-scale survey experiment among German adults to assess perceptions regarding whether educational success is determined primarily by “luck or effort” and how these views translate into demands for targeted spending.
The core intervention provided respondents with accurate data demonstrating the socio-economic status (SES) gap in academic-track secondary school (Gymnasium) attendance. Specifically, they learned that 49 percent of students from more advantaged families attend a Gymnasium, compared to only 19 percent of students from less advantaged families. This information profoundly altered beliefs: the share of respondents who stated that a high educational degree was determined by external circumstances rather than personal effort increased dramatically. Only 17 percent of the uninformed control group initially held this belief, but the information treatment increased this perception by 12 percentage points, or 71 percent, to 29 percent. These shifts in perception proved persistent, lasting through a follow-up survey conducted two weeks later.
Crucially, this change in belief translated directly into private action. The information significantly increased revealed preferences, raising private donations to charities aimed at helping disadvantaged students. The average amount donated increased by 3.3 tokens (a 9 percent increase from baseline), and the share of individuals choosing to donate a positive amount rose by nine percentage points.
However, this willingness to engage in private redistribution did not extend to public policy preferences. Despite already high baseline support (75 percent in the control group) for increased governmental education spending to foster equality of opportunity, the information treatment had a negligible effect on demand for redistributive education spending by the government. The authors suggest this divergence stems from differences in the perceived opportunity costs of funds. While respondents clearly understand the trade-off inherent in a private donation, they may be unsure whether increased public spending targeting less advantaged students would be diverted from other programs, potentially harming more advantaged students. This underlines the potential role of perceived uncertainty regarding the opportunity costs of additional spending in accounting for inertia in public preferences.
Link (pdf): Luck Or Effort: Perceptions of the Role of Circumstances in Education and Demand for Targeted Spending
