Inequity Aversion - Social Inequity Aversion

Social Inequity Aversion

Fehr & Schmidt's IA model may partially explain the widespread opposition to economic inequality in democracies, although a distinction should be drawn between IA's "guilt" and egalitarianism's "compassion", which does not necessarily imply injustice.

Inequity aversion should not be confused with the arguments against the consequences of inequality. For example, the pro-publicly-funded health care slogan "Hospitals for the poor become poor hospitals" directly objects to a predicted decline in medical care, not the health-care apartheid that is supposed to cause it. The argument that average medical outcomes improve with reduction in healthcare inequality (at the same total spending) is separate from the case for public healthcare on the grounds of inequity aversion.