Unfair inequality and the demand for redistribution
Why Not All Inequality Is Equal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4237646 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Leo Ahrens (0000-0003-2029-9145, Free University of Berlin , Berlin, Germany, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 463-487 |
| Publication date | 2022-07-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Socio-Economic Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1475-1461 • E-ISSN: 1475-147X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ser/mwaa051 |
| OpenAlex | W3111501813 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 27 |
| References cited | 56 |
Political economy research commonly expects a positive relationship between income inequality and the demand for redistribution, which is increasingly attributed to inequality aversion grounded in norms and values. However, people are not averse to a proportion of inequality that fairly results from differences in individual merit. Therefore, this study argues that the effect of inequality crucially depends on the extent to which income fairness is realized. It is primarily unfair inequality, rather than overall inequality, that affects individual redistribution support. The argument is substantiated with an empirical quantification of unfair inequality that measures whether individuals have unequal returns to their labor-related merits. Multilevel models using repeated cross-sections show that this quantification of unfair inequality can explain both within- and between-country variance in redistribution preferences and that it is a better predictor than overall inequality. The results suggest that public opinion cannot be inferred directly from the overall level of inequality
Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economic inequality · Economics · Income inequality metrics · Inequality · Inequity aversion · Labour economics · Microeconomics · Political science · Politics · Public good · Redistribution (election) · Redistribution of income and wealth · Social inequality · Variance (accounting) · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Law · Mathematics · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Taxation and Compliance Studies
Can cognitive dissonance explain beliefs regarding meritocracy
Perceived income inequality, perceived unfairness and subjective social status in Europe
Do Group-Based Inequalities Feel More Unjust? Experimental Evidence from Economically Disadvantaged Groups in India, South Africa, and the United States
Rising inequality
La ontogenia de la cognición cooperativa y las normas de equidad en dilemas distributivos
Subjective Inequity Aversion
The evolution of affluent support for redistribution in Germany in the context of rising inequalities
Pushed by markets, pulled by machines
The Inequity Z
Do the Pandemic and the First‐Ever Universal Benefit Change Welfare Attitudes? Lessons From South Korea
Does informing citizens about the non-meritocratic nature of inequality bolster support for a universal basic income? Evidence from a population-based survey experiment
Learning about inequality in unequal America
The comparative political economy of inequality
Taxing your cake and growing it too
Subjective class status and redistribution attitudes
Does Inequality Blur Class Lines? Meritocratic Attitudes in Comparative Perspective
Natural Disasters and Preferences for Redistribution
The Social Origins of Effort
The Relationship Between Inequality and Potential Emigration
Fiscal policy preferences
The impact of public opinion on voting and policymaking
Who supports whom? Citizens’ support for affirmative action policies in recruitment processes towards four underrepresented groups
Rising inequality and public support for redistribution
Taxed fairly? How differences in perception shape attitudes towards progressive taxation
Median voter dynamics in a laboratory experiment on voting over redistribution
Inequality Belief Systems
Income Inequality and Political Trust
Multilevel Analysis
Robustness issues in multilevel regression analysis
Egalitarian motives in humans
A positive theory of economic fairness
Why Wealthier People Think People Are Wealthier, and Why It Matters
Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics
The Paradox of Inequality
Social preferences, self-interest, and the demand for redistribution
Preferences for redistribution in the land of opportunities
In the eye of the beholder
Attitudes towards redistribution and the interplay between perceptions and beliefs about inequality
Achieving Justice
The Welfare State
Misperceiving inequality
Biased perceptions of income distribution and preferences for redistribution
Subjective Inequality
Theorizing the impact of fairness perceptions on the demand for redistribution
Inequality Is a Problem of Inference
The Altruistic Rich? Inequality and Other-Regarding Preferences for Redistribution
The moral economy of inequality
Public support for redistribution
The effect of macroeconomic and social conditions on the demand for redistribution
Sozialstaatliche Umverteilung und ihre Akzeptanz im internationalen Vergleich
Determinants of just earnings
A Rational Theory of the Size of Government
To Each the Same and to Each his Own
Income Inequality and Demand for Redistribution
Economic Inequality and U.S. Public Policy Mood Across Space and Time
The Two Facets of Social Policy Preferences
Two Multilevel Modeling Techniques for Analyzing Comparative Longitudinal Survey Datasets
Income Perception, Information, and Progressive Taxation
Risks and Redistribution
How Many Countries for Multilevel Modeling? A Comparison of Frequentist and Bayesian Approaches
Income Inequality Influences Perceptions of Legitimate Income Differences
Multilevel Analysis with Few Clusters
Equity, Equality, and Need
What do Germans think and know about income inequality? A survey experiment
"Fair" Inequality? Attitudes toward Pay Differentials
Shifting attributions for poverty motivates opposition to inequality and enhances egalitarianism
Economic inequality and public demand for redistribution
Inequality, public opinion and redistribution
The paradox of inequality
Inequality and the demand for redistribution
The Structure of Inequality and the Politics of Redistribution
A Model of Social Identity with an Application to Political Economy
Fairness and Freight-Handlers
Can the structure of inequality explain fiscal redistribution? Revisiting the social affinity hypothesis
How Far to Meritocracy? Empirical Tests of a Controversial Thesis
Visualizing Belief in Meritocracy, 1930-2010
Distributive Justice and Attitudes Toward the Welfare State
Mind the Income Gaps? Experimental Evidence of Information's Lasting Effect on Redistributive Preferences
| Unique citing works | 27 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 26 |