Views of Economic Inequality in Latin America

Abstract

We assess the factors that affect judgments about the fairness of the distribution of wealth with pooled public opinion data from Latinobarometro surveys conducted in 1997, 2001, and 2002. Hypotheses are tested with a multi-level logit model that allows us to draw on both the individual responses to questions in the surveys, and data about the societies in which they live. At the individual level, we examine the effects of household wealth and class position, and respondents’ perceptions of economic circumstances and political conditions. “Country-level” variables include measures of GDP, growth, the degree of inequality, political openness, and access to information. The multi-level model, finally, also allows us to examine the interactions between individual and country-level variables.