Fixed Salaries Boost Authority Legitimacy When Transparent

Experiment Context

In a public goods game experiment observing citizen reactions to an unelected authority figure.

Interaction Mechanism

Citizens could observe how the authority targets and punishes players following their contributions in this economic simulation.

Key Findings

• Citizens perceived legitimacy differently based on authority compensation (fixed salary vs personal benefit)
• Transparency about decision-making significantly influenced these perceptions
• Higher transparency made fixed-salary authorities more legitimate than those who personally benefited from penalties, even when controlling for material incentives
• Lower transparency consistently reduced support for all authority types tested

Why It Matters

These findings offer insights into how citizens evaluate institutional power and accountability.