scholarly journals Preprint of "What predicts perceived economic inequality? The roles of actual inequality, system justification, and fairness considerations"

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongfei Du ◽  
Ronnel B. King

Past studies have mostly focused on investigating actual economic inequality with less work devoted to understanding perceived economic inequality and its antecedents. However, numerous studies have shown that perceived inequality is a strong predictor of psychological, political, and social outcomes and hence is an important outcome in and of itself. This paper aims to identify the socioecological (i.e., actual inequality) and psychological (legitimation and fairness considerations) antecedents of perceived economic inequality. We hypothesized that individuals who legitimized income inequality would perceive less inequality, whereas individuals who experienced unfairness engendered by income inequality would perceive more inequality. We utilized a nationally representative sample in China (N = 33,600 respondents nested within 25 provinces) and conducted multilevel longitudinal analyses to test our hypotheses. In line with our predictions, we found that legitimation of inequality was associated with less perceived inequality six years later, whereas unfairness was associated with more perceived inequality six years later. In addition, we found that in more unequal areas, people perceived less income inequality. These longitudinal effects were robust when controlling for prior years of perceived inequality, economic development, and sociodemographic factors. Findings have implications for system justification and economic inequality theories.

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Séamus A. Power

Two narratives of economic development are presented. The first highlights contemporary global wealth and income inequality. The second illustrates historical aggregate gains in global wealth and income. Within these two broad narratives of economic development, protests and social movements will arise to modulate feelings of unfairness and deprivation. A new theory of social movements is developed. Collective remembering and collective imagining can inform feelings of unfairness, frustration, and relative deprivation in the present. This theory highlights the importance of a temporal account of the development of social movements within democracies that allow for the expression of civic discontent without brutalization. The theory predicts aggregate global economic development, with unequal economic gains, will always necessitate social movements to modulate economic inequality and circumvent perceived and actual hardship. The implications of this theory for understanding globalization, social movements, and creating fairer democratic societies are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-107
Author(s):  
Bakri Soamole ◽  
Prince Charles Heston Runtunuwu

Basic fundamentals of economic development starting from the distribution of road infrastructure, clean water, electricity and telecommunications networks have an effect on economic growth in West Halmahera Regency. Does the distribution of infrastructure affect Economic Inequality in West Halmahera Regency. Another cause is the geographical condition of the districts in North Maluku, which are separated from islands. This requires a large amount of time and budget so that districts / cities can carry out road infrastructure development more optimally. the level of income inequality in districts in West Halmahera Regency in 2017 was 1.055. Based on the criteria that have been determined in the Williamson index analysis, it can be said that the inequality in West Halmahera Regency, Jailolo District in 2017 is relatively small. It can be seen in the table above that from 2017, the value of inequality has not changed, namely 1.055 is still relatively small.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
RAJA NOUREDDINE ◽  
TIMOTHY B. GRAVELLE

Abstract Public support for the welfare state – and the policies constituting it – has long been a topic of research. Previous research on support for redistribution has tended to focus on how either country-level characteristics (particularly those relating to the macro-economy such as levels of economic development or income inequality) or individual-level political factors (such as left-right political orientation and sociodemographic factors) shape support for redistribution. To date, empirical research has insufficiently tested how macroeconomic context and individual political orientations interact. Research has also obscured whether the effects of macroeconomic context hold cross-sectionally (across country contexts) or longitudinally (within countries over time). Drawing on data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), this article examines the cross-sectional (between-country) and longitudinal (within-country) interactive relationships involving economic development and income inequality (on one hand) and left–right political orientations (on the other) in shaping preferences for redistribution. Results indicate that there are larger left–right cleavages in attitudes in wealthier countries, more unequal countries, and countries where inequality is increasing. These findings challenge the dominant practice of focusing exclusively on additive effects of individual-level or country-level factors by showing the importance of paying attention to cross-level interactions.


1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pk. Md. Motiur Rahman ◽  
S. Huda

Until the recent past, the analysis of economic inequality in a country was essentially a macro level exercise. Currently, it has been well recognized that macro level inequality measure is inadequate for assessing a country's economic development and its distributional pattern. To have a clear understanding of the nature, structure and factors responsible for inequality decompositions of aggregate inequality into sectors, sources and determinants of income are essential. The concept of decompositions of inequality signifies that if the population of income recipients is partitioned into a number of subpopulations, the total inequality of the population can be expressed as sum of the inequality within the sub-populations and of the inequality between them.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110031
Author(s):  
Laura Robinson ◽  
Jeremy Schulz ◽  
Øyvind N. Wiborg ◽  
Elisha Johnston

This article presents logistic models examining how pandemic anxiety and COVID-19 comprehension vary with digital confidence among adults in the United States during the first wave of the pandemic. As we demonstrate statistically with a nationally representative data set, the digitally confident have lower probability of experiencing physical manifestations of pandemic anxiety and higher probability of adequately comprehending critical information on COVID-19. The effects of digital confidence on both pandemic anxiety and COVID-19 comprehension persist, even after a broad range of potentially confounding factors are taken into account, including sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, metropolitan status, and partner status. They also remain discernable after the introduction of general anxiety, as well as income and education. These results offer evidence that the digitally disadvantaged experience greater vulnerability to the secondary effects of the pandemic in the form of increased somatized stress and decreased COVID-19 comprehension. Going forward, future research and policy must make an effort to address digital confidence and digital inequality writ large as crucial factors mediating individuals’ responses to the pandemic and future crises.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2450
Author(s):  
Anna Karin Lindroos ◽  
Lotta Moraeus ◽  
Jessica Petrelius Sipinen ◽  
Eva Warensjö Lemming ◽  
Emma Patterson

Adolescence is a time in life when lifestyle behaviours are acquired. One indicator of poor diet quality is the intake of foods and beverages with a relatively low nutritional value. Using the Australian classification of such foods, termed “discretionary”, we classified the intakes of Swedish adolescents who participated in the Riksmaten Adolescent 2016–17 national dietary survey. From selected schools, 3099 adolescents in age groups 11–12, 14–15 and 17–18 years provided two 24-h recalls. Intakes and healthy dietary scores were calculated. Plasma ferritin, folate and 25(OH)D were available for a third. Almost 40% of total energy came from discretionary foods/beverages. Adolescents with higher intakes were more likely to be female, older, from a low socioeconomic position-household and born in Sweden. Most discretionary foods/beverages were consumed on weekend days and during in-between meals, outside of the home and at school. Percent energy from discretionary intake was associated with healthy dietary scores but not nutritional status. A substantial amount of energy was obtained from discretionary foods/beverages, and we found that consumption is pervasive across sociodemographic factors, time and place. Addressing this pattern will require a comprehensive approach to food environments and behaviours to reach all adolescents in an equitable manner.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110201
Author(s):  
Marilyn Clark ◽  
Jamie Bonnici ◽  
Andrew Azzopardi

Loneliness has been examined by an increasing number of scholars, being implicated in numerous detrimental outcomes for mental and physical health. However, most loneliness prevalence studies have focused on particular age groups, thus overlooking how loneliness differs across the lifespan. This study assessed loneliness prevalence in a nationally representative sample ( n = 1,009) of the Maltese population aged 11 years and above using the 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale, while also identifying associations between loneliness and sociodemographic factors. Results demonstrate that 43.5% of the Maltese population experiences some form of loneliness. The association between loneliness and age demonstrates a nonlinear relationship, with elevated loneliness rates among adolescents, which decrease slightly in early adulthood, before slowly increasing from age 35 onward. Loneliness is also significantly associated with education level, employment status, household composition, mortgage payment status, perception of income, presence of a disability, active citizenship, as well as self-rated physical health, coping ability, and subjective wellbeing. These findings indicate that loneliness is experienced in significant rates across the lifespan, and intervention efforts should be targeted toward individuals of all ages.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 296-296
Author(s):  
Yao Yao ◽  
Huashuai Chen ◽  
Danan Gu ◽  
Yi Zeng

Abstract Existing studies have testified the neuroprotective qualities of tea. As there are several types of tea, question on which type of tea may exert substantial influence on cognitive health is intriguing and remains unknow. We aim to estimate the association between type of tea consumption and mild cognition impairment (MCI) using a nationally representative dataset of older population in China. Type of tea consumption was classified as three groups: Green, fermented (White, Oolong, Black, and Pu’eh), and flower tea. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was adopted to assess cognitive function. We conducted multivariate logistic regressions to evaluate the association between type of tea drinking and cognition outcomes (MMSE score and MCI). Potential confounders including sociodemographic factors, health conditions, dietary patterns, lifestyles, activities of daily living, mental health, and living environments. A total of 10,923 participants (mean age: 85.4 yr; female: 53.5%) included in the study. The type of current tea consumption among the participants were: 2143 for green tea, 1302 for fermented tea, and 844 for flower tea. Compared to those who had no habit of tea consumption, the odds ratio of MCI in green tea drinkers was 0.80 (0.68-0.95), in fermented tea drinkers was 1.07 (0.89-1.30), and in flower tea drinkers were 0.85 (0.67-1.09). Our study showed green tea and flower tea consumption associated with lower odds of MCI, while the association was not found among fermented tea drinkers. Future experimental and longitudinal studies are warranted to illustrate the association between varied type of tea and cognitive health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Hüther ◽  
Matthias Diermeier

Abstract Can the rise of populism be explained by the growing chasm between rich and poor? With regard to Germany, such a causal relationship must be rejected. Income distribution in Germany has been very stable since 2005, and people’s knowledge on actual inequality and economic development is limited: inequality and unemployment are massively overestimated. At the same time, a persistently isolationist and xenophobic group with diverse concerns and preferences has emerged within the middle classes of society that riggers support for populist parties. This mood is based on welfare chauvinism against immigration rather than on a general criticism of distribution. Since the immigration of recent years will inevitably affect the relevant indicators concerning distribution, an open, cautious but less heated approach is needed in the debate on the future of the welfare state. In order to address and take the local concerns of citizens seriously, an increased exchange with public officials on the ground is needed.


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