Socioeconomic Stereotypes
Explaining Variation in Preferences for Taxing the Rich
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6179541 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jordan Michael Ragusa, Jordan Ragusa (0000-0002-8600-4306, College of Charleston, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 327-359 |
| Publication date | 2015-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Politics Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1532-673X • E-ISSN: 1552-3373 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1532673x14539547 |
| OpenAlex | W2061386731 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 17 |
| References cited | 52 |
Motivated by research showing that policy preferences are driven by social-interests rather than strict self-interest, this article examines if stereotypes of “the rich” shape Americans’ tax policy preferences. For this project, an original free-response survey was designed asking respondents to describe “the rich.” Respondents offered 1,570 unique descriptions, ranging from “hard working” and “job producer” to “selfish” and “inheritance.” In the analysis, these stereotypes were modeled in three ways: (a) as affective stereotypes, (b) as discrete categories, and (c) as deservingness stereotypes. There are three main findings. First, political ideology and affective stereotypes have large and statistically indistinguishable effects on tax policy preferences. Second, deservingness stereotypes—in particular, whether the rich exhibit dispositional and prosocial characteristics—have particularly large effects on preferences for taxing the wealthy. And third, both affective and deservingness stereotypes have an interactive effect with personal ideology. For self-described liberals, preferences for taxing the wealthy are largely a function of ideological considerations. For conservatives, however, tax policy preferences are determined by a mix of ideology and stereotypes. In sum, the findings suggest that stereotypes affect policy preferences even when the target belongs to an advantaged group and the policy domain is nonracial
Ideology · Political science · Politics · Prosocial behavior · Social preferences · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology · Taxation and Compliance Studies
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Linking objective and subjective social status to altruistic sharing in China
Cues of wealth and the subjective perception of rich people
The precarious
The economic context of solidarity. Period vs. cohort differences in support for income redistribution in Britain and the United States
How economic inequality shapes social class stereotyping
Poverty and pain
What They Have but Also Who They Are
Does Administrative Burden Influence Public Support for Government Programs? Evidence from a Survey Experiment
Citizen Attitudes on Politicians’ Pay
Redistributive Policy Preferences
When is it Fair to Tax the Rich? The Importance of Pro-Social Behavior
Partisan Cohorts, Polarization, and the Gingrich Senators
Greed, Envy, and Admiration
Deserving more? A vignette study on the role of self-interest and deservingness opinions for popular support for wealth taxation in Germany
Legitimate Wealth? How Wealthy Business Owners are Portrayed in the Press
Why Americans Hate Welfare
Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models
The limited effect of economic self-interest on the political attitudes of the mass public
Use of Free Responses and Cluster Analysis to Determine Stereotypes of Eight Groups
Prejudice, discrimination, and racism
Liberal and conservative approaches to justice
Symbolic Racism
The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics
A Continuum of Impression Formation, from Category-Based to Individuating Processes
The Total Survey Error Approach
Social Dominance
Mail and Internet Surveys
Making the difference in social Europe
Television use, stereotypes of African Americans and opinions on affirmative action
Television Viewing, Racial Attitudes, and Policy Preferences
Tax Revolt
Examining the principles in principled conservatism
Stereotypes as energy-saving devices
The Political Culture of Ambivalence
Deservingness versus values in public opinion on welfare
Social Construction and White Attitudes toward Equal Opportunity and Multiculturalism
Ethnic Heterogeneity and Public Support for Welfare
The Relationship Between Personal and National Concerns in Public Perceptions About the Economy
The Two Faces of Government Spending
The Dual Influence of Self-Interest and Societal Interest in Public Opinion
Experiments Behind the Veil
Race, Sophistication, and White Opinion on Government Spending
Who should get what, and why? On deservingness criteria and the conditionality of solidarity among the public
Were Bush Tax Cut Supporters “Simply Ignorant?” A Second Look at Conservatives and Liberals in “Homer Gets a Tax Cut
Racial Stereotypes and Whites' Political Views of Blacks in the Context of Welfare and Crime
Beyond Welfare
The Origins and Meaning of Liberal/Conservative Self-Identifications
"Constructing "Us
Issue Framing and Public Opinion on Government Spending
Sociotropic Politics
Dispositions, scripts, or motivated correction? Understanding ideological differences in explanations for social problems
The origins of symbolic racism
Structural properties of stereotypic knowledge and their influences on the construal of social situations
Prejudice and politics
Categorical and contextual bases of person memory and stereotyping
Structure and Consistency in Public Opinion
Human Groups and Social Categories
Homer Gets a Tax Cut
Mimicking Political Debate with Survey Questions
Racial stereotypes of one hundred college students
"Whites' Opposition to "Busing
Social Construction of Target Populations
"Race Coding" and White Opposition to Welfare
The Individual Political Economy of Federal Tax Policy
The Changing Color of Welfare? How Whites' Attitudes toward Latinos Influence Support for Welfare
| Unique citing works | 17 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,7 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |