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Essays on Economic Inequality and Mass Political Preference

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Abstract

For decades, political scientists have studied how economic inequality affects public opinion. While much attention has been devoted to inequality at national or state level, less is known about the effect of local inequality. In this dissertation, I use data from multiple public opinion surveys and administrative sources to further our understanding of the role that local economic inequality plays in shaping mass public attitudes. In chapter one, I examine the effect of objective income inequality as measured by indices generated with administrative data on public perception of inequality across different levels of geographic units and find the inequality at the zip-code and county-level has the most significant impact on perceived inequality. In chapter two, I explore support for different types of redistributive policies among various social groups. In general, when faced with high local income inequality, individuals from lower economic backgrounds are more likely to be in favor of all forms of redistribution. However, those from higher economic status do not respond to high local inequality with increased redistributive preferences. In chapter three, I study mass preference for redistribution vary among groups from different socioeconomic backgrounds. I find that both past and current socioeconomic status affects how individuals react to inequality. Support for redistribution is highest among those who are economically disadvantaged both during childhood and at present.

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This item is under embargo until October 18, 2025.