Income Inequality Versus Perceived Inequality

Trump’s research shows income inequality unrelated to perceived inequality and support of redistribution.

Dr. Kris-Stella Trump’s research has been featured in and recognized by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). The FAZ is one of Germany's most prestigious national newspapers. The article by Boris Holzer "Soziale Ungleichheit: Wann sich Gehälter gerecht anfühlen," nicely summarizes Trump’s recent Social Science Quarterly article "Income inequality is unrelated to perceived inequality and support for redistribution.”

In her research, Trump, assistant professor of Political Science, aims to contribute to understanding of the relationship between income inequality, perceptions of income inequality, and support for redistribution. In particular, it inquires whether income inequality affects support for redistribution by influencing perceptions of inequality. This study combines the pay ratio measures from the International Social Survey Project with income inequality measures from the Standardized World Income Inequality Database. The analysis moves forward in three steps, asking whether (1) inequality is related to perceived inequality, (2) perceived inequality is related to preferences for inequality, and (3) perceived inequality is related to support for redistribution.

Results show that income inequality is unrelated to perceptions of inequality. Perceptions of inequality strongly predict preferred inequality, reinforcing the prior conclusion that anchoring effects likely cause this close relationship. Perceptions of inequality also predict support for redistribution. However, because actual inequality is unrelated to perceived inequality, there is no link between actual inequality and either preferred inequality or support for redistribution.

The original SSQ article is available here >>

For more information on this research or her feature in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), contact Trump at ktrump@memphis.edu.