Voter preferences – the solid rock of politics? Experiments on political demand for redistribution

• In Event: 1432 - Open Topic on Political Sociology

Abstract

Political economy and welfare state research treat the welfare state preferences of citizens as the foundation of redistributive policies, since only policies oriented towards the demands of the citizens are legitimate. However, this bottom-up model neglects a preference formation that is influenced by media discourses and political elites. The paper argues that framing research represents a more realistic model of preference formation by taking such processes into account. The author’s own experiments on issue framing with an item on political demand for income redistribution, which most international public opinion surveys contain, examine the extent to which framing effects occur. To this end, three treatments were developed, which replicate typical arguments of media communication: the cost burden argument, an information frame, and competing arguments. In particular, such dual frames represent a desideratum of framing research. The treatments (along with a control group) were used in an online survey experiment (sample 1000 persons) conducted in 2017. The burden frame reduces support for income redistribution to a highly significant degree. When the competing view of the social desirability of small income distances is added, the difference to the control group gets smaller, but still a insignificant negative effect of the burden prevails. The information frame on growing wage discrepancy has no effect. Testing for differential framing effects shows that education barely moderates treatment effects, but groups react homogenously. Finally, experimental designs provide a deeper understanding of preference formation and of the range of the influence of political elites on public opinion.

Author

• Ursula Dallinger, University of Trier