Simon Bienstman
Biographic Data
| ID | 4377989 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Simon Bienstman |
| GIVEN NAMES | Simon |
| FAMILY NAME | Bienstman |
| SIGNATURE | BIENSTMAN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Goethe University Frankfurt |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3811-4412 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 4 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 26 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 4 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Increasingly polarized? Inequality, prosperity, and perceived socioeconomic conflict in advanced economies (1987–2019)
Previous studies suggest that in more unequal societies, people perceive stronger antagonistic relations between opposing socioeconomic groups. Given that income inequality and social polarization have both been on the rise in most Western democracies, we expand on this body of work by investigating whether changes in macroeconomic fundamentals have triggered changes in perceived socioeconomic conflict. To assess this proposition, we fit hybrid m…
Explaining the ‘democratic malaise’ in unequal societies: Inequality, external efficacy and political trust
Previous scholarship suggests that rising inequality in democracies suppresses trust in institutions. However, the mechanism behind this has not clearly been identified. This paper investigates the proposition that income inequality leads to increased democratic distrust by depressing perceptions of external efficacy. Based on time‐series cross‐sectional survey data from the European Social Survey, we find that changes in income inequality have a…
Does inequality erode political trust
A long-standing argument in the political sciences holds that high levels of inequality are incompatible with democracy. Although a number of studies have by now investigated whether income inequality endangers democratic consolidation and stability through corroding popular support, the findings remain inconclusive. This study provides new evidence for a sociotropic effect of macroeconomic income inequality on trust in the institutions of repres…
Populism and Layers of Social Belonging: Support of Populist Parties in Europe
Although scholars hypothesized early on that social belonging is an important predictor for voting behavior, its role for populist voting remains empirically ambiguous and underexplored. This contribution investigates how different aspects of social belonging, that is, quality, quantity, and perception of one's own social relationships, relate to electoral abstention and to populist voting on the left and right. Employing multilevel regression mo…
Explaining the ‘democratic malaise’ in unequal societies: Inequality, external efficacy and political trust
Previous scholarship suggests that rising inequality in democracies suppresses trust in institutions. However, the mechanism behind this has not clearly been identified. This paper investigates the proposition that income inequality leads to increased democratic distrust by depressing perceptions of external efficacy. Based on time‐series cross‐sectional survey data from the European Social Survey, we find that changes in income inequality have a…
Populism and Layers of Social Belonging: Support of Populist Parties in Europe
Although scholars hypothesized early on that social belonging is an important predictor for voting behavior, its role for populist voting remains empirically ambiguous and underexplored. This contribution investigates how different aspects of social belonging, that is, quality, quantity, and perception of one's own social relationships, relate to electoral abstention and to populist voting on the left and right. Employing multilevel regression mo…
Does inequality erode political trust
A long-standing argument in the political sciences holds that high levels of inequality are incompatible with democracy. Although a number of studies have by now investigated whether income inequality endangers democratic consolidation and stability through corroding popular support, the findings remain inconclusive. This study provides new evidence for a sociotropic effect of macroeconomic income inequality on trust in the institutions of repres…
Populism and Layers of Social Belonging: Support of Populist Parties in Europe
Although scholars hypothesized early on that social belonging is an important predictor for voting behavior, its role for populist voting remains empirically ambiguous and underexplored. This contribution investigates how different aspects of social belonging, that is, quality, quantity, and perception of one's own social relationships, relate to electoral abstention and to populist voting on the left and right. Employing multilevel regression mo…
Does inequality erode political trust
A long-standing argument in the political sciences holds that high levels of inequality are incompatible with democracy. Although a number of studies have by now investigated whether income inequality endangers democratic consolidation and stability through corroding popular support, the findings remain inconclusive. This study provides new evidence for a sociotropic effect of macroeconomic income inequality on trust in the institutions of repres…
Explaining the ‘democratic malaise’ in unequal societies: Inequality, external efficacy and political trust
Previous scholarship suggests that rising inequality in democracies suppresses trust in institutions. However, the mechanism behind this has not clearly been identified. This paper investigates the proposition that income inequality leads to increased democratic distrust by depressing perceptions of external efficacy. Based on time‐series cross‐sectional survey data from the European Social Survey, we find that changes in income inequality have a…
Increasingly polarized? Inequality, prosperity, and perceived socioeconomic conflict in advanced economies (1987–2019)
Previous studies suggest that in more unequal societies, people perceive stronger antagonistic relations between opposing socioeconomic groups. Given that income inequality and social polarization have both been on the rise in most Western democracies, we expand on this body of work by investigating whether changes in macroeconomic fundamentals have triggered changes in perceived socioeconomic conflict. To assess this proposition, we fit hybrid m…
Economic inequality (3 works) · Economics (3 works) · Inequality (3 works) · Political science (3 works) · Politics (3 works) · Social inequality (3 works) · Democracy (2 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (2 works) · Law (2 works) · Law (2 works)