TY - JOUR
T1 - Unequal and Unsupportive
T2 - Exposure to Poor People Weakens Support for Redistribution among the Rich
AU - Christensen, Matias Engdal
AU - Dinesen, Peter Thisted
AU - Sønderskov, Kim Mannemar
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Do the rich become more or less supportive of redistribution when exposed to poor people in their local surroundings? Most existing observational studies find that exposure to poor individuals is positively associated with support for redistribution among the well-off, but one prominent field experiment found a negative link. We seek to resolve these divergent findings by employing a design closer to the studies that have found a positive link, but with more causal leverage than these; specifically, a three-wave panel survey linked with fine-grained registry data on local income composition in Denmark. In within-individual models, increased exposure to poor individuals is associated with lower support for redistribution among wealthy individuals. By contrast, between-individual models yield a positive relationship, thus indicating that self-selection based on stable individual characteristics likely explains the predominant finding in previous work.
AB - Do the rich become more or less supportive of redistribution when exposed to poor people in their local surroundings? Most existing observational studies find that exposure to poor individuals is positively associated with support for redistribution among the well-off, but one prominent field experiment found a negative link. We seek to resolve these divergent findings by employing a design closer to the studies that have found a positive link, but with more causal leverage than these; specifically, a three-wave panel survey linked with fine-grained registry data on local income composition in Denmark. In within-individual models, increased exposure to poor individuals is associated with lower support for redistribution among wealthy individuals. By contrast, between-individual models yield a positive relationship, thus indicating that self-selection based on stable individual characteristics likely explains the predominant finding in previous work.
KW - administrative data
KW - attitudes toward redistribution
KW - economic inequality
KW - neighbourhood effects
KW - panel data
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190871381&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/unequal-and-unsupportive-exposure-to-poor-people-weakens-support-for-redistribution-among-the-rich/FC32FA59B3C5525A178C7012859F95D8#supplementary-materials
UR - https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/GCCULO
U2 - 10.1017/S0007123424000061
DO - 10.1017/S0007123424000061
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0007-1234
VL - 54
SP - 1424
EP - 1434
JO - British Journal of Political Science
JF - British Journal of Political Science
IS - 4
ER -