Changing attitudes toward redistribution: The role of perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality

Abstract

Modern societies are characterized by economic inequality. Redistributive policies are one of the means to reduce it. We argue that perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of it are central factors to enhance positive attitudes toward redistribution. To test it, we conducted a four-wave longitudinal panel study in Chile with a sample of 1221 college students (at T1baseline, 960 at T2, 926 at T3, and 787 at T4; Mage = 18.89). As expected, a cross-lagged longitudinal analysis controlled by household income confirmed a positive relationship between perceived economic inequality in everyday life and intolerance of inequality, which in turn was positively associated with support for redistributive policies.These results were stable and consistent over time, supporting the idea that perceived economic inequality in everyday life enhances positive attitudes toward redistribution by increasing intolerance of it. Results highlight the important role played by perceived inequality in everyday life.

How living in economically unequal societies shapes our minds and our social lives

“…Importantly, there is not only evidence that higher economic inequality is more discussed but also that it is more negatively appraised as signalling a problematic state of the world. For instance, there is evidence that people who perceive more economic inequality in their country (García‐Castro et al, 2020, 2021; Schmalor & Heine, 2021) or perceive there to be a greater gap in pay between unskilled workers and CEOs (Kiatpongsan & Norton, 2014) were more likely to report appraising this inequality as too large, more unfair or problematic.…”

Upholding the Social Hierarchy

“…In addition, while our study delved into the ideal level of economic inequality to deepen our understanding of attitudes toward economic disparities, recent scholarship underscores the importance of exploring intolerance toward inequality (García-Castro et al, 2022) and preferences for redistribution of economic resources (García-Castro et al, 2023). Notably, correlational findings suggest that the perceived ideal economic gap influences support for redistribution efforts (García-Sánchez et al, 2018).…”

What about diversity? The effect of organizational economic inequality on the perceived presence of women and ethnic minority groups

“…Indeed, in countries high in economic inequality as measured with the Gini index, people tended to show higher ambivalence of stereotypes [4,13] and believe competitiveness is higher between individuals [14]. On a micro level, perceptions of economic inequality also have significant psychosocial consequences for individuals [15][16][17][18][19]. The level of perceived economic inequality creates a normative climate from which people infer the nature of the most probable interpersonal and intergroup interactions [20,21].…”