## Preferences for Reforms: Endowments vs. Beliefs

_IMF Working Papers, February 18, 2022_

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**Canonical URL:** [Preferences for Reforms: Endowments vs. Beliefs](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2022/02/18/preferences-for-reforms-endowments-vs-513175)

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Romain A Duval, Yi Ji, Chris Papageorgiou, Ippei Shibata, Antonio Spilimbergo
- Published: February 18, 2022
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400201295.001

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### Research question and methodology
- Research question: Are preferences for reforms driven by individuals’ own endowments or beliefs?
- Scope: Cross-country survey on people’s opinions on employment protection legislation (EPL).
- Experimental element: A randomized information treatment to test whether beliefs causally affect views about reform.
- Publication details:
  - By Romain A Duval, Yi Ji, Chris Papageorgiou, Ippei Shibata, Antonio Spilimbergo
  - February 18, 2022
  - Pages: 49
  - Volume: 2022
  - Issue: 033
  - Series: Working Paper No. 2022/033
  - DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400201295.001
  - Stock No: WPIEA2022033
  - ISBN: 9798400201295
  - ISSN: 1018-5941

### Key findings
- Primary empirical result:
  - Individuals’ beliefs matter more than their own endowments and personal pay-offs in shaping preferences for EPL reform.
- Causal evidence:
  - The randomized information treatment confirms that beliefs explain views about reform and that beliefs can change with new information.
- Robustness:
  - Results are robust to several robustness tests, including alternative estimation techniques and samples.

### Policy-relevant implications
- Since beliefs have larger influence than material endowments, information provision can alter public support for reform.
- Policymakers aiming to build support for EPL deregulation should consider strategies that address and reshape beliefs through targeted information.
- The malleability of beliefs implies timing and framing of information campaigns can be important in facilitating difficult reforms where personal interests are at stake.

### Subjects and keywords
- Subjects: Employment protection, Labor, Labor force, Labor markets, Population and demographics
- Keywords: beliefs, employment protection, endowments, EPL deregulation, ideology, knowledge indicator, political economy, political opinions, preferences, reform, regulation, surveys, Northern Europe, Southern Europe

*Source: IMF Working Papers — "Preferences for Reforms: Endowments vs. Beliefs", Romain A Duval et al., February 18, 2022, Working Paper No. 2022/033.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2022/02/18/preferences-for-reforms-endowments-vs-513175_