Suchergebnisse

We present questionnaire studies concerning equity judgments based on an axiom that underlies Rawls's difference principle. Our investigation, spanning over a period of fifteen years, was run at German, Austrian and Slovenian universities. We also modified two of our basic scenarios to check for responsibility aspects. Additionally, we included information on socio‐demographic characteristics of respondents in a probit model. Answers depend on cultural environments, but results indicate some convergence over time. Responsibility considerations are important if they can be attributed to particular persons. Although overall explanatory power of demographic attributes is low, we observe significant gender differences.

Abstract
This paper discusses evaluations of distributive justice in two different situations. Focal point is the so-called equity axiom which lies at the heart of Rawls' second principle of justice, the maximin rule. Our investigation which was run at a German university spans over a period of fifteen years. It seems to us that consideration for the worst-off (group) in society has become considerably weaker over the years. This and related observations are tested by using a probit model including several demographic characteristics of the probands. The supposed time trend proves to be statistically robust. Several reasons for this observation are given. Obviously, depending on the underlying context, evaluations are to some degree influenced by current topics, including the ongoing discussion about the German educational system as well as about recent economic problems. We also briefly refer to findings that we obtained in the Baltics and in Israel.