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Exposure to inequality affects support for redistribution.

Melissa L Sands1

  • 1Department of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 sands@fas.harvard.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|January 11, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Exposure to visible economic inequality reduces wealthy individuals' support for wealth redistribution policies, like a millionaire's tax. This finding suggests that increased inequality may paradoxically decrease support for measures aimed at reducing it.

Keywords:
field experimentinequalitypolitical scienceredistributiontaxation

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Area of Science:

  • Social Psychology
  • Behavioral Economics
  • Public Policy

Background:

  • Wealth distribution is highly skewed globally.
  • Understanding how visible economic inequality influences affluent individuals' support for redistribution is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of exposure to poverty on affluent individuals' willingness to support wealth redistribution policies.

Main Methods:

  • A placebo-controlled field experiment was conducted.
  • The presence of impoverished individuals in public spaces frequented by the affluent was randomized.
  • Participants were asked to sign a petition for a "millionaire's tax".

Main Results:

  • Exposure to visible economic inequality decreased affluent individuals' support for redistribution.
  • Treatment effects varied based on the race and gender of the subjects, indicating interaction effects.
  • 2,591 solicitations were recorded in a real-world setting.

Conclusions:

  • Exposure to inequality can paradoxically increase, rather than decrease, inequality.
  • Findings have significant implications for policymakers regarding poverty, inequality, and economic segregation.
  • The study highlights the complex interplay between perceived inequality and support for redistributive policies.