Beliefs About Public Debt and the Demand for Government Spending
Publikation: Working paper › Forskning
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Beliefs About Public Debt and the Demand for Government Spending. / Roth, Christopher; Settele, Sonja; Wohlfart, Johannes.
2020.Publikation: Working paper › Forskning
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TY - UNPB
T1 - Beliefs About Public Debt and the Demand for Government Spending
AU - Roth, Christopher
AU - Settele, Sonja
AU - Wohlfart, Johannes
PY - 2020/2/26
Y1 - 2020/2/26
N2 - We examine how beliefs about the debt-to-GDP ratio affect people's attitudes towards government spending and taxation. Using representative samples of the US population, we run a series of experiments in which we provide half of our respondents with information about the debt-to-GDP ratio in the US. Based on a total of more than 4,000 respondents, we find that most people underestimate the debt-to-GDP ratio and reduce their support for government spending once they learn about the actual amount of debt, but do not substantially alter their attitudes towards taxation. The treatment effects seem to operate through changes in expectations about fiscal sustainability and persist in a four-week follow-up.
AB - We examine how beliefs about the debt-to-GDP ratio affect people's attitudes towards government spending and taxation. Using representative samples of the US population, we run a series of experiments in which we provide half of our respondents with information about the debt-to-GDP ratio in the US. Based on a total of more than 4,000 respondents, we find that most people underestimate the debt-to-GDP ratio and reduce their support for government spending once they learn about the actual amount of debt, but do not substantially alter their attitudes towards taxation. The treatment effects seem to operate through changes in expectations about fiscal sustainability and persist in a four-week follow-up.
KW - Government Debt
KW - Political Attitudes
KW - Beliefs
KW - Expectations
KW - Information
U2 - 10.2139/ssrn.3528060
DO - 10.2139/ssrn.3528060
M3 - Working paper
T3 - CEBI Working Paper Series
BT - Beliefs About Public Debt and the Demand for Government Spending
ER -
ID: 248762880