Johanna Möllerström
Biographic Data
| ID | 5806282 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johanna Möllerström |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johanna |
| FAMILY NAME | Möllerström |
| SIGNATURE | MOLLERSTROM J |
| AFFILIATIONS | George Mason University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8097-2058 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 6 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 17 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 6 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Lucky to Work
Inequalities are often regarded as more acceptable when they reflect differences in effort, rather than differences in luck. However, effort and luck are often intertwined, and luck may decide if an individual can even exert effort. Using survey experiments in the US and Sweden we study situations where luck fully determines whether an agent works. We document that spectators, tasked with redistributing income between agents, grant working agents…
(Mis-)Perceptions, information, and political polarization
Numerous studies have documented that misperceptions about society, e.g. related to inequality, are widespread among voters. Simultaneously, a separate body of literature demonstrates increasing political polarization. Against this background, it is intuitively appealing to hypothesize that information provision can be useful not only to correct misperceptions, but also to create a common ground that can bridge divisiveness. In a general populati…
Favoritism and cooperation
A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behaviour
We report from a study of how uncertainty about whether a given inequality reflects performance or luck shapes distributive behaviour. We show theoretically that the reaction to uncertainty depends on how people trade-off the probability of making a mistake when redistributing, and the size of this mistake. We show experimentally that uncertainty causes a strong egalitarian pull among a majority of meritocratic individuals. The theoretical framew…
Richer (and Holier) Than Thou? The Effect of Relative Income Improvements on Demand for Redistribution
We use a tailor-made survey on a Swedish sample to investigate how individuals' relative income affects their demand for redistribution. We first document that a majority misperceive their position in the income distribution and believe that they are poorer, relative to others, than they actually are. We then inform a subsample about their true relative income and find that individuals who are richer than they initially thought demand less redist…
Capital Flows, Consumption Booms and Asset Bubbles
Bernanke (2005) hypothesized that a "global savings glut" was causing large trade imbalances. However, we show that the global savings rates did not show a robust upward trend during the relevant period. Moreover, if there had been a global savings glut there should have been a large investment boom in the countries that imported capital. Instead, those countries experienced consumption booms. National asset bubbles explain the international imba…
A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behaviour
We report from a study of how uncertainty about whether a given inequality reflects performance or luck shapes distributive behaviour. We show theoretically that the reaction to uncertainty depends on how people trade-off the probability of making a mistake when redistributing, and the size of this mistake. We show experimentally that uncertainty causes a strong egalitarian pull among a majority of meritocratic individuals. The theoretical framew…
Capital Flows, Consumption Booms and Asset Bubbles
Bernanke (2005) hypothesized that a "global savings glut" was causing large trade imbalances. However, we show that the global savings rates did not show a robust upward trend during the relevant period. Moreover, if there had been a global savings glut there should have been a large investment boom in the countries that imported capital. Instead, those countries experienced consumption booms. National asset bubbles explain the international imba…
Favoritism and cooperation
Capital Flows, Consumption Booms and Asset Bubbles
Bernanke (2005) hypothesized that a "global savings glut" was causing large trade imbalances. However, we show that the global savings rates did not show a robust upward trend during the relevant period. Moreover, if there had been a global savings glut there should have been a large investment boom in the countries that imported capital. Instead, those countries experienced consumption booms. National asset bubbles explain the international imba…
Richer (and Holier) Than Thou? The Effect of Relative Income Improvements on Demand for Redistribution
We use a tailor-made survey on a Swedish sample to investigate how individuals' relative income affects their demand for redistribution. We first document that a majority misperceive their position in the income distribution and believe that they are poorer, relative to others, than they actually are. We then inform a subsample about their true relative income and find that individuals who are richer than they initially thought demand less redist…
Favoritism and cooperation
A Meritocratic Origin of Egalitarian Behaviour
We report from a study of how uncertainty about whether a given inequality reflects performance or luck shapes distributive behaviour. We show theoretically that the reaction to uncertainty depends on how people trade-off the probability of making a mistake when redistributing, and the size of this mistake. We show experimentally that uncertainty causes a strong egalitarian pull among a majority of meritocratic individuals. The theoretical framew…
(Mis-)Perceptions, information, and political polarization
Numerous studies have documented that misperceptions about society, e.g. related to inequality, are widespread among voters. Simultaneously, a separate body of literature demonstrates increasing political polarization. Against this background, it is intuitively appealing to hypothesize that information provision can be useful not only to correct misperceptions, but also to create a common ground that can bridge divisiveness. In a general populati…
Lucky to Work
Inequalities are often regarded as more acceptable when they reflect differences in effort, rather than differences in luck. However, effort and luck are often intertwined, and luck may decide if an individual can even exert effort. Using survey experiments in the US and Sweden we study situations where luck fully determines whether an agent works. We document that spectators, tasked with redistributing income between agents, grant working agents…
Economics (6 works) · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies (3 works) · Law (3 works) · Microeconomics (3 works) · Political science (3 works) · Psychology (3 works) · Social Psychology (3 works) · Luck (2 works) · Perception (2 works) · Politics (2 works)