I Perceive Therefore I Demand : The Formation of Inequality Perceptions and Demand for Redistribution
This paper investigates the link between inequality and demand for redistribution by looking at how individuals form their perceptions of inequality. Most of the literature analyzing demand for redistribution has focused on objective inequality, ra...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/217371561686066298/I-Perceive-Therefore-I-Demand-The-Formation-of-Inequality-Perceptions-and-Demand-for-Redistribution http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31998 |
| Summary: | This paper investigates the link between
inequality and demand for redistribution by looking at how
individuals form their perceptions of inequality. Most of
the literature analyzing demand for redistribution has
focused on objective inequality, rather than subjective
perceptions of inequality. However, a model that links
demand for redistribution to subjective inequality is
needed, given that recent empirical research has shown a
growing gap between subjective and objective inequality.
Using data from the International Social Survey Programme
survey, the paper focuses on explaining individuals'
formation of inequality perceptions using objective
variables. The paper then studies the relationship between
these perceptions and individuals' demand for
redistribution. The analysis finds that objective macro
variables are associated with individuals' perceptions
of inequality, and that individual circumstances, some of
which relate to self-interest, like age, educational
attainment, and income, also play an important role.
Perceptions of equality, in turn, are significatively
correlated to demand for redistribution and seem to
substitute for any effect of objective variables. This
result suggests that contextual macro variables only affect
individuals' demand for redistribution through their
perceptions of equality and do not have a direct effect. |
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