Does Support for Redistribution Mean What We Think It Means?

• In Event: Experiments in Inequality, Fairness, and Redistribution

Abstract

Majorities surveyed in advanced democracies routinely express concern about inequality and view the government as responsible for reducing income differences between rich and poor. These views are often interpreted as popular support for redistribution. We question this interpretation and contend that most individuals have little grasp of what reducing inequality entails in terms of actual policy. Rather, attitudes on concrete redistributive policies---progressive taxation and transfers to the poor---mirror general sentiments about social inequality, but also weigh more heavily personal economic considerations. Using original survey and experimental data from the U.S, we offer support for these conjectures. We show that when confronted with more concrete policy measures to reduce income disparities: (1) support for government action increases; (2) attitudes more closely mirror one's material self-interest. We conclude with a discussion of the methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for the study of inequality and redistribution.

Authors

• Shir Raviv, Tel Aviv University

• Yotam Margalit, Tel Aviv University