This thesis seeks to investigate the possible connection between the precarious socioeconomic situation that dominates the lives of most Chileans and the historically unprecedented magnitude of...Show moreThis thesis seeks to investigate the possible connection between the precarious socioeconomic situation that dominates the lives of most Chileans and the historically unprecedented magnitude of protests that are currently shaking the country. The main research question will, therefore, take a close look at “How to understand the 2019 Chilean protests as a result of the structural inequalities produced by the radical neoliberal development strategy implemented in the 1980s? In order to make this research more tangible and feasible, the privatization of the social security (pension) system will serve as a case study to analyze the changing tolerance for inequality, as the demand for a pension system reform is one of the key drivers behind the ongoing social upheaval in Chile. The research questions will be answered by using the Hirschman “tunnel hypothesis” created in 1973 to investigate how societies in the early stages of rapid economic development have created a substantial tolerance for initial economic disparities, anticipating a future reduction of said disparities that will include everyone. Should these expectations never be met, considerable social discontent develops, that can result in disaster and turn previous supporters into enemies of the stateShow less
Up until now, research looking into factors that influence decision-making in anticommons dilemmas has been scant. The current study attempts to fill that void by conducting an experimental...Show moreUp until now, research looking into factors that influence decision-making in anticommons dilemmas has been scant. The current study attempts to fill that void by conducting an experimental investigation of three levels of uncertainty (no vs. low vs. high) regarding buyers' willingness- to-pay (WTP) and how that influences the sellers' willingness-to-accept (WTA) in an anticommons dilemma. Furthermore, this study will investigate if accountability (accountability vs. no accountability) counters the effect of uncertainty. To investigate this, participants (N = 141) will be exposed to all three uncertainty conditions while taking part in a 3-person anticommons game. Additionally, accountability is manipulated by whether or not the participants have to justify their decisions to their fellow group members. As predicted, participants set higher WTA prices under uncertain conditions. However, accountability did not attenuate this effect.Show less
