A study in which the UJI participates shows how the minimum individual possibility of improvement suggests that society is fairer



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## A study in which the UJI participates shows how the minimum individual possibility of improvement suggests that society is fairer People’s reactions before different levels of inequality in the initial opportunities are analysed for the first time

05/04/2016 |
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* [![ oportunitats-inicials Gianluca_Grimalda_web_uji](/com/noticies/2016/03/1q/oportunitats-inicials/Gianluca_Grimalda_web_uji.jpg)](#)

Democratic societies are discussing extensively about whether social justice can best be achieved either through the redistribution of initial opportunities or through the levelling of final earnings. To contribute to the scientific study on this subject, a research in which the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) is taking part analyses for the first time people’s reactions before different levels of redistribution of initial opportunities and reveals that the perception of the slightest chance of success has a high influence on the individual assessment of social justice.

The study has been carried out by a group of researchers at the UJI, with Gianluca Grimalda, and two researchers from universities of Warwick (UK) and New Delhi (India), Eugenio Proto an Anirban Kar, respectively. It was recently published in the scientific journal Experimental Economics.

The work is the first to map people’s preferences when facing different levels of inequality of opportunities. To this end, researchers have used an experimental redistribution game called Ultimatum Game. This game involves the participation of two people with different roles: the "proposer" and the "receiver". The proposer has a sum of money and he/she has to propose the receiver how that amount of money can be divided between the two of them. The receiver can either accept the form of distribution suggested by the proposer or keep the part of money proposed, or he/she can reject the offer. In the latter case, both players are left to zero, without receiving any of the money. It is clear that the initial position of being the proposer is the most advantageous one in the Ultimatum Game and, in fact, proponents usually make more money than recipients do.

During the experimental study, researchers manipulated, over several sessions, the fairness of the procedures that assign the initial role of proposer or receiver through a lottery that can assign the same probabilities, or different probabilities, to get the initial position of proposer, which is, as noted, the most advantageous one. The aim was to analyse how people reacted to the extreme case of complete inequality, where a person has no chance and the other has all the chances, in comparison with the situation of giving a minimum opportunity to the disadvantaged person. In the latter case, the disadvantaged person had a 1% chance of winning and the other had 99%.

As UJI researcher Gianluca Grimalda details, “so far, the theoretical and empirical studies have only compared the two extremes, i.e., the situation of perfect equality (everyone has the same opportunities) and maximum inequality (where many people have no chance). Here, we have looked at several intermediate levels in the distribution of opportunities, such as when a person has 80% chance of winning and the other has 20%”.

**We all want an opportunity**

The study has revealed that people attach great importance to having a minimal probability of achieving a better starting position (1% in some cases), compared to having no chance. For the researchers, this confirms the fundamental role of the perception of being included in society, although this is a purely symbolic inclusion.

As Grimalda explains, "the fact that people consider so important to have a minimum opportunity can be both very positive and very negative. On the one hand, it means that if people perceive to have opportunities to succeed in life, even minimal, their level of satisfaction with society will improve greatly. In other words, it is very important for the social fabric that all perceive that they have a chance of being successful, albeit a very small one. On the other hand, the downside is that this could be used by an opportunistic government to justify the lack of investment in equal opportunities, considering that it is enough that everyone feels that they have a chance. This is clearly paradoxical and it is not desirable at all”.

According to the study, the fairest procedures lead to a lower probability of rejecting unequal final gains. This indicates that the individual perception of social justice does not necessarily correspond to how fair a society is. Thus, research shows that people are more likely to reject an unequal result when they see a clear injustice in the system. By contrast, a slight increase in equity in the distribution of initial opportunities seems to have a significant impact on the individual perception of social justice. According to the researcher, "our study confirms the fundamental role of the existence of opportunities in the perception of being included in society, and in the subsequent assessment of a more fair society. As an example, we can mention how the symbolic opportunity to have a voice in a problem of collective decision sustains the propensity of subjects to see the situation as significantly more fair that when you are denied this opportunity”.

According to Grimalda, the fact that the individual perception of social justice differs from how objectively fair a society is is one of the main issues: "As already demonstrated, humans are very bad when it comes to manage risk, and we tend to give disproportionate importance to events that have a very low probability. In this sense, we must educate people to be more rational to manage probability and risk, and we have to give accurate information about what are the actual chance of social success”.

The research has a great involvement in the assessment of distributive justice in our societies, since the perception of the existence of opportunities will greatly improve the social fabric. This, according to the researchers, has to be taken into account by governments: "The policies devoted to improve opportunities for disadvantaged groups should incorporate such perceptions into their design to increase its reach and to maximize their efficiency", Grimalda concludes.

**Bibliographic references:**

Gianluca Grimalda, Anirban Kar and Eugenio Proto (2015). Procedural fairness in lotteries assigning initial roles in a dynamic setting. Experimental Economics, first online: 12 November 2015, pp. 1-23.

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