Patterns of Inequality and Latin American Support for Government Redistribution

Abstract

This paper examines individual-level support for redistribution in Latin America. Using cross-national survey data from 2008 and 2010, we examine both country-level and individual-level explanations for attitudes toward redistribution. We focus in particular on how both the level of inequality and patterns of inequality at the country level affect attitudes. We consider two aspects of patterns of inequality. The first captures the overlap between ethnic and economic divides, rooted in an argument that as income levels are strongly associated with ethnicity, ethnic divisions will drive down support for redistribution. The second captures the economic distance between those in the middle of the income distribution and those at the top and bottom. The argument here is that support for redistribution will be lower where the distance between the middle and top of the income distribution is smaller than the distance between the middle and bottom of the income distribution. We also consider a host of individual explanations rooted in self-interest, ideology, and demographics. Our analysis supports the conclusion that higher levels of inequality and less overlap between economic and ethnic divides generate more support for redistribution.

Keywords: inequality, Latin America, public opinion, redistribution