Affluent Citizens Research Articles

Is unequal representation the consequence of different voting behavior across income groups?

Extant literature documents the unequal representation of the interests of low- and high-income groups in democracies. One potential explanation for this phenomenon is the electoral behavior of different groups of voters. If affluent citizens base their vote decisions more strongly on policy considerations, while the less affluent rely on forms of electoral support that are less strongly conditioned by policy or performance evaluations, this pattern could influence the ability and willingness of political elites to represent low-income citizens. We make use of the integrated CSES election data to study how, across a diverse set of countries, income levels affect the criteria voters rely on when voting: namely, proximity voting, valence considerations, and economic voting. Overall, our findings show no meaningful differences in voting criteria across income groups, nor consequences for party systems. These findings have important implications for the literature on unequal representation, as they rule out the common narrative that the affluent cast more sophisticated vote decisions.

The Phenomenon of Chinese Charity within the Paternalistic Model of Social Policy

This article highlights the main aspects of the development of private and corporate charity in the People's Republic of China and analyzes the process of integrating charity into the paternalistic model of social policy, traditional for China. The main data on the economic development of China, especially the private sector of the economy, which is the main donor of charitable projects and programs, are presented. The increased attention of the state to private charity is stated as an opportunity to make additional financial injections into solving social problems. A brief description of legal innovations concerning the development of Chinese philanthropy is provided. The specific features of national charity reflecting the socio-cultural and economic characteristics of the country are considered. The increased role of corporate and private charity in the fight against poverty, the elimination of the consequences of natural disasters, and the support of education is stated. At the same time, attention is drawn to the desire of the state to coordinate and control the processes of creating charitable organizations, to direct their activities, which in the conditions of paternalistic traditions looks natural. The political aspects of the growth of charity are considered, in particular, related to the concept of ‘universal prosperity’. The desire of the country's leadership to reduce the growing socio-economic stratification is clearly seen, using not only state programs, but also the potential of charitable organizations and individuals. The data of sociological surveys of the most affluent citizens of the People’s Republic of China are given, indicating their high motivation to help and support fellow citizens in need. The development of charity in China, especially corporate, is interpreted as a process of its peculiar ‘embedding’ not only in the economy, but also in politics.

The Rule of Law in Cities of the Medieval Low Countries: Community-Building in Context

Urban communities were established in the twelfth and thirteenth century with the aid of legal concepts that comprised early notions of the rule of law. Cities were envisaged as “communes”, which referred to popular sovereignty. In a first period, urban citizenship was flexible and closely related to place of residence. From around 1220 this model came under increasing pressure. In order to safeguard the interests of the most affluent citizens, large guilds were established. Status determined rights, and there were significant inequalities even among citizens. Ideas of democratic democracy and the civic virtues of citizenship were fostering reforms after 1250. Existing urban governments were expanded to include councils and burgomasters. A framework of checks and balances developed because the commune, now considered as the body of citizens and residents, was seen as a force coexisting with metropolitan institutions. The medieval examples show that, in response to economic and even global conditions, community-building and rule-of-law thinking were solutions offering a “unity-in-diversity”.

Manifestations and Perception of Economic Inequality of Citizens in Russia and the Impact of Personal Income Tax Deductions on it: Analysis of the Results of a Sociological Survey

The subject of the study is the manifestations and perception of economic inequality of citizens in Russia. Economic inequality is one of the global problems of our time. In Russia, it has been at a consistently high level for 30 years. The task of smoothing the inequality of citizens in Russia has been set at the highest state level. Research interest in this regard is the manifestations and subjective assessment or perception by citizens of the degree of inequality, regardless of its calculated statistical indicators, as well as the ability of the state to smooth inequality and overcome poverty. The purpose of the study is to identify and evaluate the manifestations of economic inequality of citizens in Russia, as well as its perception based on the results of a sociological survey to determine the prospects for smoothing inequality. The scientific novelty consists in identifying the manifestations and assessing the perception of economic inequality by Russian citizens based on the interpretation of the results of a sociological survey, as well as in substantiating the aggravating effect of personal income tax deductions on inequality. With the acute perception of inequality and injustice in the distribution of income in Russia, there is no intensification of protest sentiments and the risks of threats to socio-economic stability are not realized. Manifestations of inequality of citizens are the need to save on food and consumer preferences, tourist activity, the availability of credit obligations, the use of medical and educational services, the demand for personal income tax deductions. The current bias in favor of investment and property deductions for personal income tax to the detriment of social and standard deductions does not allow realizing the potential of their smoothing effect on the inequality of citizens. Property and investment deductions used by more affluent citizens lower the average effective personal income tax rate for them at a level lower than that of poor citizens, which leads to regressive income taxation.

Review: Painting in Stone: Architecture and the Poetics of Marble from Antiquity to the Enlightenment

Review: <i>Painting in Stone: Architecture and the Poetics of Marble from Antiquity to the Enlightenment</i>

Affluence and Influence in a Social Democracy

Research from the United States and Europe suggests that affluent citizens enjoy considerably more policy influence than do average citizens and the poor. I examine the extent of unequal policy responsiveness in one of the countries that have gone farthest in reducing economic inequality and restricting money in politics: Norway. I use an original dataset on public opinion and public policy containing 603 specific issues over five decades (1966–2014). The results show that although policy is certainly skewed toward the preferences of the privileged, Norway stands out among previously studied cases for two reasons: (1) The preferences of the poor seem to have some sway on economic issues and (2) not all affluent citizens get their way: educational attainment appears to be the more important determinant. The Norwegian case suggests that influence need not be as dependent upon affluence as in the United States.

Perceptions of (unequal) responsiveness and their consequences for electoral participation

ABSTRACT Research on a variety of democracies has shown that there is a link between mass preferences and public policy. It has also been documented that public policy tends to be more responsive to the preferences of affluent citizens. We know little, however, about citizens’ perceptions of policy responsiveness and their consequences for electoral participation. This manuscript addresses this issue by analysing citizens’ perceptions of policy responsiveness and of unequal policy responsiveness, the extent to which these perceptions vary by income, as well as the effect of those perceptions on turnout across various income groups. Using data from an original survey conducted in 13 western democracies in 2019, the analyses reveal that most citizens from all income groups are skeptical about their influence on policy and perceive a bias in policy making that favors the rich. These perceptions are associated with lower levels of participation, especially among the low-income groups.

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL TOURISM

Tourism, as one of the priority directions of the development of the industry of Kazakhstan, should be maximally accessible to all segments of the population of our country. While the most affluent citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan can not limit themselves in choosing forms of travel and resorts, the middle class is focused on “moderate tours” to inexpensive destinations, socially vulnerable segments of society often do not have the opportunity to have a good rest at all. At the same time, it is this category of citizens that most needs the development of an inexpensive, but high-quality recreation infrastructure, primarily within our country.

Private electoral finance and democratic theory

Private electoral finance and democratic theory

Corporate political power and US foreign policy, 1981–2002: the role of the policy-planning network

Recent empirical work has offered strong support for ‘biased pluralism’ and ‘economic elite’ accounts of political power in the United States, according a central role to ‘business interest groups’ as a mechanism through which corporate influence is exerted. Here, we propose an additional channel of influence for corporate interests: the ‘policy-planning network,’ consisting of corporate-dominated foundations, think tanks, and elite policy-discussion groups. To evaluate this assertion, we consider one key policy-discussion group, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). We first briefly review the origins of this organization and then review earlier findings on its influence. We then code CFR policy preferences on 295 foreign policy issues during the 1981–2002 period. In logistic regression analyses, we find that the preferences of more affluent citizens and the CFR were positive, statistically significant predictors of foreign policy outcomes while business interest group preferences were not. These findings are discussed with a consideration of the patterns of CFR ‘successes’ and ‘failures’ for the issues in our dataset. Although a full demonstration of a causal connection between corporate interests, the policy-planning network and policy outcomes requires further research, we conclude that this has been shown to be a plausible mechanism through which corporate interests are represented and that ‘biased pluralism’ researchers should include it in their future investigations.

Diffusion and Synchronization Dynamics Reveal the Multi-Scale Patterns of Spatial Segregation

Urban systems are characterized by populations with heterogeneous characteristics, and whose spatial distribution is crucial to understand inequalities in life expectancy or education level. Traditional studies on spatial segregation indicators focus often on first-neighbour correlations but fail to capture complex multi-scale patterns. In this work, we aim at characterizing the spatial distribution heterogeneity of socioeconomic features through diffusion and synchronization dynamics. In particular, we use the time needed to reach the synchronization as a proxy for the spatial heterogeneity of a socioeconomic feature, as for example, the income. Our analysis for 16 income categories in cities from the United States reveals that the spatial distribution of the most deprived and affluent citizens leads to higher diffusion and synchronization times. By measuring the time needed for a neighborhood to reach the global phase we are able to detect those that suffer from a steeper segregation. Overall, the present manuscript exemplifies how diffusion and synchronization dynamics can be used to assess the heterogeneity in the presence of node information.

Manifestations of Economic Inequality of Citizens in Russia: Analysis of the Results of a Sociological Survey

The subject of the study is the economic inequality of citizens in Russia. The inequality of citizens in Russia has been at a consistently high level for 30 years, but it is not permanent or static. Inequality is being transformed: new forms are emerging, such as digital inequality, inequality in the balance of life and work, inequality in the field of health, inequality of the coronacrisis. The differences between the richest and the poorest in the consumption of products are decreasing in volume, and the quality of products is increasing. This indicates the need to study the current characteristics of inequality of citizens in Russia. The purpose of the study is to assess the manifestations of economic inequality of citizens in Russia based on the results of a sociological survey to determine the directions of smoothing inequality. The hypothesis of the study is that inequality in Russia is being transformed, and existing approaches to its assessment do not allow to objectively determine its current state, which, among other things, leads to the ineffectiveness of measures taken by the state to smooth out inequality. The scientific novelty consists in interpreting the results of a sociological survey in terms of identifying the key manifestations of modern inequality and outlining the portrait of the least and most affluent citizens: poverty of young people under 25, poverty of rural residents, poverty of students, poverty of unemployed pensioners and the unemployed, income inequality of citizens in the regional context. Despite the fact that 71% of respondents estimate their incomes as sufficient for current expenses, inequality in the subjective assessment of income sufficiency is significantly weaker than inequality in actual income. The potential of state financial instruments for smoothing inequality has not been realized

‘Essential for the soul’?: leisure as a flashpoint during COVID-19 lockdowns in Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded in Canada, leisure activities and spaces became major sites of public debate and emotional expression about the efficacy, ethics, and social impacts of restrictive public health measures, as well as sites for the support or defiance of pandemic-related restrictions. In this paper, we analyze the ways that news media understood and represented public health measures and their relation to recreation, and participation therein. We focus on: 1) how media contributed to public understandings of social control and diffusion of surveillance; 2) how recreation became something of a ‘flashpoint’ as restrictions were imposed and, conversely, a symbol of freedom, liberty from governmental control, and return to so-called ‘normalcy’ as public health measures were lifted; and 3) how leisure was constructed in ways that privilege affluent consumers and citizens, with relatively little concern expressed for the implications of the pandemic on marginalized or vulnerable populations.

Affluence and Congruence: Unequal Representation around the World

Do elected representatives reflect the preferences of the citizens they represent? Recent studiesfrom the U.S. and a number of other democracies have found that legislators tend to representbetter the preferences of affluent citizens. But we still know little about how widespread this biasis. To answer this question, we gathered every publicly available survey of elected representativesin the world and matched it with mass survey data. Our dataset consists of 92,000 eliteobservations and 3.9 million citizen observations spread across 565 country-years, 52 individualcountries, and 33 years. Using a variety of methods, we find that around the world, legislators’preferences are consistently more congruent with those of affluent citizens. However, we also findthat this inequality varies substantially by issue domain: while the affluent are better representedon economic issues, the poor seem to be over-represented on cultural issues.

FORMATION AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE CITY COUNCILS IN THE 1870–1880s AND THEIR SOCIAL STRUCTURE (BASED ON THE MATERIALS OF THE VLADIMIR, NIZHNY NOVGOROD AND TULA PROVINCES)

The article examines the procedure for the formation of city dumas in the towns of Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir and Tula governorates in the 1870–1880s on the basis of archival materials. The author studies the electorate, their distribution by categories in accordance with the Municipal statutes of 1870, as well as the estate composition of councilors in city dumas.&#x0D; &#x0D; As a result of the reform of 1870, not all urban residents received the right to vote. The property qualification gave the opportunity to participate in the elections only to the most affluent part of the population. Distribution of voters into three categories, depending on the amount of taxes paid, was one of the characteristic features and one of the main problems of the electoral system that operated in towns of the second half of the 19th century.&#x0D; &#x0D; In practice, as a result of restrictions established by the law, a significant part of urban residents were deprived of the right to vote.&#x0D; &#x0D; As follows from the collected archival data, the persons who voted in the first and second categories showed the greatest activity as voters. At this, the turnout among the electors in the third category was extremely low.&#x0D; &#x0D; The central government, determining the procedure for the formation of self-governance bodies, was interested in ensuring a privileged position of the noble estate. Nevertheless, the analysis of city dumas composition based on the materials of the selected provinces shows that a significant part of councilors was made by representatives of the merchant class and petty bourgeoisie. The appearance of peasant class representatives in the city dumas is noteworthy.&#x0D; &#x0D; Thus, despite equality of estates in the municipal self-governance bodies created as a result of the reform of 1870, not all urban residents could vote. But even those who were granted the right to vote often did not use it. As a rule, the least activity was characteristic for the third category voters, which included the less affluent segments of the urban population and who did not see the point in participating in public life. Among the more affluent citizens who voted in the first and second categories, electoral activity was quite high. Merchants and rich representatives of the petty-bourgeoisie estate showed the greatest interest in the sphere of self-governance.

Service Delivery and Accountability of Urban Officials: Evidence from Urban-based Local Government in Bangladesh

This study compares the state of city government service delivery for communities living in different areas with different level of affluence in Rajshahi City in Bangladesh. Based on the results of a qualitative study, we found a significant service disparity between the affluent and the poor communities. This disparity is due to the inability of the poor to hold service providers accountable, attributable to a lack of knowledge about services and a lack of social status. Lack of quality monitoring and a marked bias in the quality of interactions between the poor and the affluent contribute to the service disparity This disparity is largely invisible to the poor who, instead of comparing themselves with the affluent citizens, compare themselves with a similar class of people.

Social status, political priorities and unequal representation

AbstractResearchers on inequalities in representation debate about whether governments represent the preferences of the rich better than those of less affluent citizens. We argue that problems of high‐ and low‐status citizens are treated differently already at the agenda‐setting stage. If affluent and less affluent citizens have different priorities about which issues should be tackled by government, then these divergent group priorities explain why government favours high‐ over low‐status citizens. Due to different levels of visibility, resources and social ties, governments pay more attention to what high‐status citizens consider important in their legislative agenda and pay less attention to the issues of low‐status citizens. We combined three types of data for our research design. First, we extracted the policy priorities (most important issues) for all status groups from Eurobarometer data between 2002 and 2016 for 10 European countries and matched this information with data on policy outcomes from the Comparative Agendas Project. We then strengthen our results using a focused comparison of three single country studies over longer time series. We show that a priority gap exists and has representational consequences. Our analysis has important implications for the understanding of the unequal representation of status groups as it sheds light on an important, yet so far unexplored, aspect of the political process. Since the misrepresentation of political agendas occurs at the very beginning of the policy‐making process, the consequences are potentially even more severe than for the unequal treatment of preferences.

Evaluation of the In-Vitro Dissolution Permeation Systems 1 (IDAS1) as a potential tool to monitor for unexpected changes in generic medicaments in poorly regulated markets

Panama, like most Latin American countries, has insufficient regulatory safeguards to ensure the safety and efficacy of all pharmaceutical products in the market, a situation that results in a two-tier system, where affluent citizens can afford innovator products while poor citizens must consume ‘generics’ of uncertain quality. Given that one lot of each drug product is analyzed every five years during registration while commercial lots are not, and since most products are not bioequivalent but simply copies or similars, there is a concern that commercial and registration lots of these ‘generics’ may not be of the same quality. The objective of this study was to assess the ability of various in vitro quality control tests to detect difference among five amlodipine products available in the Panamanian market: four ‘generics’, made in various countries, and the innovator, made in Germany and used as reference listed drug in Panama (Pan-RLD). The innovator manufactured in the United States (US-RLD) was used to compare the two RLDs. The Content Uniformity test, 30-min Dissolution test and multiple-pH Dissolution Profiles did not show any difference among the products. However, the in vitro dissolution absorption system 1 (IDAS1) showed a statistically significant difference in the amount dissolved between Pan-RLD and three out of the four ‘generics’, and significantly lower permeated amount for all the ‘generics’ compared with Pan-RLD; only US-RLD was similar to Pan-RLD. Thus, IDAS1 showed promise as a potential tool that authorities in weakly regulated markets can use to monitor for possible lot-to-lot product changes, which can help improve the quality of pharmaceutical products available to their entire populations. The significance of the similarity between the innovators made in Germany and the United States and their difference from the ‘generics’ (manufactured in other countries) is not known but deserves investigation.

Climate Action Planning, the Lived Environment, and Green Gentrification in Pittsburgh, PA

This study points to the importance of studying the intersection of sustainability planning, revitalization, and equity in urban spaces by applying Henri Lefebvre’s representation of space in a cri-tique of the ongoing debate over "green gentrification" in Pitts-burgh, Pennsylvania. In this paper, I examine how the city of Pittsburgh sustains that (1) gentrification is sustainable and just, (2) it will help better neighborhoods for local families and create better 'green' communities and (3) green gentrification along with greening of city spaces result in city-wide benefits for all citizens, not just White or affluent citizens. Through this rhetori-cal representation of space, the city of Pittsburgh defines the pro-cess and associated values of gentrification as desirable, una-voidable, and most importantly, a sustainable process with just outcomes for obtaining equality throughout all the city’s neigh-borhoods. Ultimately, the material reality of how the city of Pitts-burgh is planning on creating a sustainably just city for all its citizens is hidden in its rhetorical sustainable discourses when surveyed utilizing Lefebvre’s theoretical production of space as a foundation.

Veblen was right: Conspicuous consumption and car loans in Russia

We study the connection between the social pattern of conspicuous consumption, on the one hand, and financialization, on the other. Our claim is that greater availability of consumer loans from Russian banks feeds consumerism and promotes the institution of conspicuous consumption. Cars have long been recognized as status symbols or ‘positional goods’ whose utility goes beyond their core functionality as a transportation means. The perception of social identity drives people to seek more expensive and fancy cars, while auto makers and car lenders deliberately foster consumer demand for them. We operationalize financialization with empirical evidence of bank financing of car purchase in the Rostov region of Russia. We find that leveraged car buying has taken root over the past 20 years. Getting a bank loan to buy an otherwise unaffordable car has become an acceptable social pattern. We see a sign of conspicuousness in the fact that the monetary income of households grows slower than the average price of a new car financed by a car loan, the amount of loans issued, and outstanding bank debt on car loans. Thus, households incur such expense by sacrificing other items including basic needs and their human capital development. The phenomenon that we study occurs among less affluent citizens rather than more affluent ones that Veblen focused on, and the range of cars serving as status symbols is broader than just luxury brands usually believed to be the object of conspicuous consumption. Our contribution to the literature is that a basic concept of institutional theory (conspicuous consumption) is combined with elements from other research approaches, namely social significance of bank lending, functional differentiation of credit, and the effects of financialization.