The Causal Effect of Income Inequality on Attribution and Social Trust

Across the social sciences researchers have debated the impact income inequality has on people's perceptions, specifically on attribution and social trust. Causal identification of such effects, however, has been difficult for a variety of reasons. In this paper we use a combination of surveys and behavioral lab experiments to identify a causal impact of inequality on attribution and social trust. Using positional primes we find that higher relative position has a positive impact on belief in meritocracy and social trust, which we causally identify both using a novel incentivized lab task as well as standard survey measures. These results are in line with correlational associations we find using larger general surveys. They speak to why inequality can be so socially and economically corrosive while at the same time remaining largely unaddressed.