Economic and cultural determinants of elite attitudes toward redistribution

Lopez, Matias, Moraes Silva, Graziella, Teeger, Chana ORCID: 0000-0002-5046-8280 and Marques, Pedro (2022) Economic and cultural determinants of elite attitudes toward redistribution. Socio-Economic Review, 20 (2). 489 – 514. ISSN 1475-1461

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Abstract

Previous studies have posited that elites are willing to advance the redistribution of income and social goods when the negative effects of inequality, such as crime and conflict, threaten their own interests. Although elites acknowledge these negative effects, their support for redistributive policies remains low throughout the Global South. We address this paradox using a multi-method research design. Drawing on 56 in-depth interviews with Brazilian political and economic elites, we document how, when discussing the negative effects of inequality, interviewees consistently characterized the poor as ignorant, irrational and politically incompetent. We use these findings to theorize about the negative impact of such perceptions of the poor on elite support for redistribution. We then test this relationship using survey data gathered from random samples of political and economic elites in Brazil, South Africa and Uruguay (N = 544). We find the relationship to be robust.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://academic.oup.com/ser
Additional Information:	© 2020 The Authors
Divisions:	Methodology
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D6 - Welfare Economics > D62 - Externalities D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D70 - General
Date Deposited:	06 May 2020 13:15
Last Modified:	20 Dec 2024 00:39
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/104273

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