TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Liu, Kelly J.
AU  - Stutzer, Alois
        TI  - The Role of Social Mobility Experience in Zero-Sum Beliefs
        PY  - 2024/Oct/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 17407
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp17407
        AB  - In today's world where growth and capital accumulation are the norm, many people still adhere to zero-sum thinking, the belief that gains for one party can only come at the expense of another party. The perception of economic exchange as zero-sum can lead to excessive competition and uncooperative behavior. We investigate social mobility as a driver of zero-sum beliefs by leveraging worldwide survey data and recently published data on intergenerational educational mobility. We find that a higher probability of experienced downward mobility in an individual's cohort and education group is associated with increased zero-sum beliefs. Consistent with gender-specific status concerns, experienced downward mobility only strengthens zero-sum beliefs for men.
        KW  - zero-sum
KW  - social mobility
KW  - intergenerational mobility
KW  - belief formation
KW  - gender norms
        ER  -