Rewarding the Skilled: How Education Shape Redistribution Attitudes

• In Event: Grievance, Social Class, and Preferences for Redistribution

Abstract

Why does the effect of higher education on redistribution attitudes differ across countries and over time? In this comparative study, I examine two conflicting hypotheses about the education effect on redistribution attitudes: if it is more substantial when the economic returns of the diploma are high or when they are relatively low. In post-industrial societies, income inequality is increasingly structured in relation to a divide of education. Generous returns to education could signal opportunities for upward mobility, thereby reducing the willingness to redistribute. Alternatively, as a coping strategy, highly educated could set stricter boundaries to welfare state beneficiaries when there are poor returns on their educational investment. The study exploits the European Social Survey (ESS) 2002-2020 and focuses on the individual-level interaction between education and income. I validate the outcomes through multilevel analyses accounting for cross-country differences in wage premiums, shown by Luxemburg Microlevel Study (LIS). The results demonstrate that when the economic reward for a diploma increases, the highly educated become even less favorable of redistribution. The study deepens the understanding of the political socialization processes of education groups by highlighting the importance of economic factors and self-interest. To understand cross-country variation in the ‘education effect’, it is crucial to examine the interaction between education and income, rather than to treat them separately.

Author

• Hilma Agnes Maria Lindskog, Gothenburg University