When Need Becomes Visible: Proximity to Deprivation & Support for Redistribution

• In Event: The Politics of Economic Crises, Social Inequality and Redistribution

Abstract

A well-known problem in the political economy literature is the question of why as inequality increases, we do not see a correspondent increase in redistributive preferences (the Meltzer-Richard puzzle). Various explanations have been brought forward, including ignorance of actual levels of inequality and the persistence of preferences, which have their bases on stable social and ideological factors. A promising avenue of research has since been to test whether the visibility of inequality matters in shifting perceptions (Sands 2017; 2020). In this paper, I test this preposition with panel data from the UK related to redistributive preferences and proximity to deprivation. I find a significant and positive effect: openings of new food banks in an area are significantly linked to an increase in redistributive preferences. I argue that the impact of food banks derives from the visibility of the primary need they serve, acting as a reminder people go hungry in this economic system. This overcomes negative stereotypes and disinformation people may receive about welfare claimants from sources such as the media. To investigate whether the effect works through updated information about people on welfare (reducing stereotypes such as the “welfare queen” trope) or rather by enhanced pro-sociality and solidarity in the community, I employ Twitter data connected to the local authority level.

Authors

• Anna Clemente, London School of Economics

• Giuliano Formisano, University of Oxford