Inequality and Riots – Experimental Evidence

We study the relationship between inequality and in ter-groups conflicts (riots), focussing on social i nequality. Disadvantaged societal groups experience discrimination and thus have limited access to some social an d labour resources like education or employment. First, we e xperimentally investigate whether social inequality is a driving force of inter-group conflicts. Second, we investigate the factors that make preferences for r iot translate into actions. Riots require coordination. Our exper iment consists of a two-stage game. First, subjects play a proportional rent-seeking game to share a prize. So cial inequality is modelled exogenously by attribut ing to some subjects (the advantaged group) a larger share of the price than other subjects (the disadvantage d group) for the same amount of effort. In a second stage pl ayers can coordinate with the other members of thei r group to reduce ("burn") the other group members' payoff. Tr eatments differ in the degree of social inequality set between the two groups. We observe frequent social conflicts, where, as expected, disadvantaged groups riot more than advantaged groups. Surprisingly, the freq uency of riots decreases with the degree of inequality. A control treatment allows us to identify resignation as the driving force behind this phenomenon.