Warning: file_get_contents(https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=28416655
&cmd=llinks): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 215
Warning: imagejpeg(C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\phplern\28416655
.jpg): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 117 Proc+Natl+Acad+Sci+U+S+A
2017 ; 114
(18
): 4643-4648
Nephropedia Template TP
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
2017[May]; 114
(18
): 4643-4648
PMID28416655
show ga
Rising income inequality is a global trend. Increased income inequality has been
associated with higher rates of crime, greater consumer debt, and poorer health
outcomes. The mechanisms linking inequality to poor outcomes among individuals
are poorly understood. This research tested a behavioral account linking
inequality to individual decision making. In three experiments (n = 811), we
found that higher inequality in the outcomes of an economic game led participants
to take greater risks to try to achieve higher outcomes. This effect of unequal
distributions on risk taking was driven by upward social comparisons. Next, we
estimated economic risk taking in daily life using large-scale data from internet
searches. Risk taking was higher in states with greater income inequality, an
effect driven by inequality at the upper end of the income distribution. Results
suggest that inequality may promote poor outcomes, in part, by increasing risky
behavior.