How Property Shapes Distributional Preferences

We study how distributional preferences are affected by a major property rights reform that transformed informal use-rights over land traditionally characterizing rural Beninese villages in system akin to private ownership. The design combines the randomized control-trial implementation of across with lab-in-the-field experiments eliciting villagers' choices -- both when luck is source situational inequality and an unequal distribution originated merit considerations. Results show reforming allocation rules direction impersonal market-alike institutions increases participants' acceptance determined luck, while leaving tolerance for generated unaffected.