TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Dohmen, Thomas
AU  - Meyer, Frauke
AU  - Walkowitz, Gari
        TI  - Basic Needs Satisfaction as a Fundamental Distributive Principle: Evidence from the Lab and the Field
        PY  - 2026/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18409
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18409
        AB  - This paper provides clear evidence that concerns for basic needs satisfaction (BNS) represent a distinct distributional motive. Using a unified theoretical and experimental framework across five dictator-game experiments in Germany and Georgia (N=446), we disentangle BNS from motives such as maximin, selfishness, efficiency, generosity, and envy. A substantial share of participants displayed BNS-driven choices and were willing to forgo income and efficiency to satisfy others’ basic needs. BNS remained robust across contexts, incentive schemes, and countries, and increased when needs satisfaction had strategic relevance. The results highlight the importance of BNS for understanding distributional preferences and policy design.
        KW  - basic needs
KW  - redistribution
KW  - distributional motives
KW  - maximin
KW  - public policy
KW  - field experiment
KW  - laboratory experiment
        ER  -