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Individual utilities of life satisfaction reveal inequality aversion unrelated to political alignment

Created by
  • Haebom

Author

Crispin Cooper, Ana Friedrich, Tommaso Reggiani, Wouter Poortinga

Outline

This study investigated people's willingness to prioritize social well-being and trade-offs between fairness and personal well-being through a stated preference experiment with a representative UK sample (n=300). We estimated individual-level utility functions using the expected utility maximization (EUM) framework and tested their sensitivity to small-probability overestimation using cumulative prospect theory (CPT). The majority of participants exhibited concave (risk-averse) utility curves and a stronger aversion to inequality in social life satisfaction outcomes than to personal risk. These preferences were independent of political stance, suggesting a shared normative stance on fairness in well-being that transcends ideological boundaries. The findings raise concerns about the use of average life satisfaction as a policy indicator and support the development of nonlinear utility-based alternatives that more accurately reflect collective human values. We discuss Takeaways for public policy, well-being measurement, and the design of value-aligned AI systems.

Takeaways, Limitations

Takeaways:
Confirmation of the existence of broad normative consensus on fairness in social well-being.
Limitations of using average life satisfaction as a policy indicator are highlighted.
Emphasizes the need to develop nonlinear utility-based alternatives.
Takeaways on public policy, well-being measurement, and value-aligned AI system design.
Limitations:
The sample size (n=300) is relatively small.
As this is a representative sample of the UK, generalizations to other countries are limited.
Due to the nature of the stated preference experiment, there is a possibility that differences from actual behavior may exist.
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