Elites and Perceptions of Inequality and Poverty

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Researchers are increasingly noting a marked and systematic gap between measured inequality and perceived inequality, which is particularly stark among the very rich and the poor. Since inequality moreover means very different things for the rich and the poor, exploring these gaps can help improve policy responses to face the tremendous challenge inequalities pose for a region like Latin America.
Previous studies have pointed towards the importance of paying attention to differential views towards inequality, including the discourse of meritocracy and hard work, and a reluctance of 'elites' to engage with issues of distribution. Reis and Moore's (2005) influential comparative study on Elite Perceptions of Poverty and Inequality found important differences in both understanding of, and (political) responses to, issues of poverty and inequality in their respective countries.
With the share of income and/or wealth of the ‘top one percent' increasing in many countries, often contributing to an overall increase in economic inequality, studies of elites as well as inequality perceptions gain further importance. A subfield here specifically focuses on how 'elites' understand these changes and economic inequality more generally. This session aims to bring researchers within these subfields together, with contributions from social scientists throughout the region who have conducted empirical research on perceptions towards inequality, to facilitate a discussion and develop a comparative perspective on 'elite' perceptions of inequality. We are additionally interested in studies of elite perceptions of the distribution of material resources, and how these relate to gender, 'racial' and ethnic disparities.

Sub Track

• Inequalities: Their Multiple Faces

Session Organizers

• Alice Krozer, University of Cambridge

• Máximo E Jaramillo Molina

Chair

• Hernán F Gómez, Instituto Mora

Individual Presentations

• Relative Affluence: Elite Perceptions of Inequality in Mexico - Alice Krozer, University of Cambridge

• "El que quiere, puede”: Merit and individualism in perceptions of poverty and inequality in Mexico City - Máximo E Jaramillo Molina

• Perception on poverty and inequality among business elites in Mexico and Central America - Hernán F Gómez, Instituto Mora

• Why elite resist cash transfer programs: the case of 'Bolsa Familia' - Matías López Martínez, Universidad Católica de Chile

• Who is poor and what is poverty according to the Mexican ruling and intellectual elite during the late nineties and up to now - Alma Luisa Rodríguez