<ARTICLES>Shaping Stances in Post-Industrial Societies: Two Decades of Change in Attitudes Towards Unequal Income Distribution

Abstract

For decades, economically developed post-industrial countries have experienced major institutional and structural transformations. Since the 1970s, the stagnation and retrenchment of the welfare state has contributed to the disruption of the social fabric. A growing share of the population is now experiencing stagnating wages, job insecurity, and wealth inequalities. However, these trends have not resulted in equal growth in demand for more socio-economic equality and wider redistribution of resources. This study analyses 2 waves of Integrated Values Survey longitudinal data: 1989-1993 (N = 18, 028) and 2005-2009 (N = 23, 248), and explores the changes in attitudes toward the unequal distribution of income in 10 OECD countries. The paper examines how age and self-interest explain people’s attitudes toward unequal income distribution. The findings conclude that while the overall level of support for more equal income distribution increased between the years 1989-1993 and 2005-2009, self-interest plays an important role in explaining public opinion on the normative attitudes toward income distribution. Fixed-effects models with country-fixed effects show that individuals’ self-interest explains attitudes toward income inequality better than age. Contrary to expectations, the attitudes of medium- and high-income earners do not align. However, compared to low-income earners, medium- and high-income earners are less in favour of more equality in income distribution. It is noteworthy that individuals who are employed full-time, part-time, and those who are not employed, all express similar levels of support for more equal incomes, while individuals who are self-employed are least supportive of increased equality in income distribution.