Data for: Revisiting the claim that "Americans prefer Sweden" in a laboratory experiment on wealth inequality.

A nation’s distribution of wealth is partially a political decision. However, research has shown that perceptions of inequality often diverge from reality. This divergence may in turn impact public support for policies. Norton and Ariely (2011) surveyed Americans in 2005 about views on wealth inequality and famously found that ‘Americans prefer Sweden.’ We reexamine this claim with a controlled laboratory experiment. We employ a more intuitive display of the distribution of wealth than the original study. Participants were shown three hypothetical distributions of wealth: an equal distribution, one highly unequal based on the United States, and a distribution between the two extremes. Cluster analysis reveals three distinct types of distributional preferences. Despite high inequality and political upheaval that have taken place since 2005, we find that our participants also prefer a wealth distribution that is more equal than that experienced in the United States. This result is consistent regardless of political affiliation. Additional research is needed to reconcile stated preferences for increased wealth equality with public policy enhancing inequality.