Abstract
Economic inequality is at historically high levels in the United States and is among the most pressing issues facing society. And yet, predicting the behavior of politicians with respect to their support of economic inequality remains a significant challenge. Given that high status individuals tend to conceive of the current structure of society as fair and just, we expected that high status members of the U.S. House of Representatives would be more likely to support economic inequality in their legislative behavior than would their low status counterparts. Results supported this prediction particularly among Democratic members of Congress: Whereas Republicans tended to support legislation increasing economic inequality regardless of their social status, the social status of Democrats – measured in terms of average wealth, race, or gender – was a significant predictor of support for economic inequality. Policy implications of the observed relationship between social status and support for economic inequality are considered.
Highlights
Economic inequality is at historically high levels in the United States and is among the most pressing issues facing society
We predicted that high status individuals would be more likely to support economic inequality in their legislative behavior relative to their low status counterparts
Political party affiliation had a large effect on sponsoring behavior t(428) = 233.20, p,.05 (MDem = 24.62; MRep = 1.25), with Democrats supporting reduction of economic inequality significantly more than Republicans
Summary
Economic inequality is at historically high levels in the United States and is among the most pressing issues facing society. Given that high status individuals tend to conceive of the current structure of society as fair and just, we expected that high status members of the U.S House of Representatives would be more likely to support economic inequality in their legislative behavior than would their low status counterparts. Results supported this prediction among Democratic members of Congress: Whereas Republicans tended to support legislation increasing economic inequality regardless of their social status, the social status of Democrats – measured in terms of average wealth, race, or gender – was a significant predictor of support for economic inequality. High status individuals tend to hold public office more than their low status counterparts, and as a result, have unique access to decisionmaking power on matters related to economic policy and wealth distribution [5]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
