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Attitudes toward Eliminating Income Inequality in Europe

Author

Listed:
  • Karl Kaltenthaler

    (University of Akron, USA, kck@uakron.edu)

  • Stephen Ceccoli

    (Rhodes College, USA, ceccoli@rhodes.edu)

  • Ronald Gelleny

    (University of Akron, USA, Gelleny@uakron.edu)

Abstract

In this paper, we seek to understand why attitudes vary among individuals regarding the issue of income distribution in European Union member states. We believe that the issue of income inequality is a potentially significant political cleavage that may have an important influence in meaningful ways in European politics. Rather than focusing on the national context to explain variation in citizen attitudes toward income inequality, we control for national context and explore the relative influence of various individual-level characteristics in shaping how Europeans think about the distribution of income in their countries. We assess how individuals' political attitude, economic self-interest, and general attitude toward society affect how they think about income equality in their own society. To test these propositions, we devise a series of hypotheses that are tested in an ordered probit model using data from the 2000—1 wave of the World Values and European Values Surveys. It is our contention that the way people think about income inequality in their society is largely a product of the ideas that they hold about politics and society, and not principally a product of their economic self-interest.

Suggested Citation

  • Karl Kaltenthaler & Stephen Ceccoli & Ronald Gelleny, 2008. "Attitudes toward Eliminating Income Inequality in Europe," European Union Politics, , vol. 9(2), pages 217-241, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:9:y:2008:i:2:p:217-241
    DOI: 10.1177/1465116508089086
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Caldeira, Gregory A. & Gibson, James L., 1995. "The Legitimacy of the Court of Justice in the European Union: Models of Institutional Support," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(2), pages 356-376, June.
    2. A. B. Atkinson, 1999. "The Economic Consequences of Rolling Back the Welfare State," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262011719, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta, 2012. "In the mood for redistribution. An empirical analysis of individual preferences for redistribution in Italy," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(3), pages 2383-2398.
    2. Rebecca Morton & Jean-Robert Tyran & Erik Wengström, 2016. "Personality Traits and the Gender Gap in Ideology," Studies in Political Economy, in: Maria Gallego & Norman Schofield (ed.), The Political Economy of Social Choices, pages 153-185, Springer.
    3. Ayfer Karayel, 2015. "Income Inequality Tolerance and Preferences for Redistribution in Turkey," European Journal of Economics and Business Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 1, September.
    4. Chiara Binelli & Matthew Loveless, 2014. "The Urban-Rural Divide: Perceptions of Inequality in Central and Eastern Europe," Working Paper series 10_14, Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis.
    5. Binelli, Chiara & Loveless, Matthew & Whitefield, Stephen, 2015. "What Is Social Inequality and Why Does it Matter? Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 239-248.

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