Awareness of Inequality and Government Liberalism

Abstract

Though it appears based on recent research that Republicans and many Democrats in Washington, DC, are largely unresponsive to the poor and middle class, some governments in the states are taking action to reduce income inequality. Comparative research, and research in the United States, shows that left-leaning politicians are most concerned about inequality and most likely to try to reduce it. In this chapter the authors argue that in states where there is a greater awareness of inequality the public will therefore have a greater desire to elect politicians that will advance the economic interests of the lower and middle classes, and that strategic politicians will take advantage of the lack of federal action to try to reduce inequality. The analysis shows that as public awareness of inequality grows, government officials indeed move to the left and are, in turn, associated with lower income inequality between 1987 and 2010.