Beyond income disparities: perceived health and education inequities drive actions to reduce economic inequality

Abstract

Perceiving income disparities has a limited impact on attitudes towards reducing economic inequality. In this research, we proposed a novel and alternative strategy by focusing on other aspects intrinsically related to economic inequality, such as unequal access to health and education resources. We investigated whether recognizing inequality in health and education, beyond income disparities, could motivate people to reduce economic inequality. In four preregistered studies (NStudy1 = 513, NStudy2 = 1536, NStudy3 = 443, NStudy4 = 400), we showed that perceived economic inequality in health and education, over and above perceived income disparities, leads to greater intolerance towards inequality and increased support for redistributive policies and collective actions. Our findings suggest that heightened awareness of economic inequality in aspects meaningful for individuals’ lives, such as health or education, may foster support for redistributive policies and engagement in collective actions to mitigate such disparities.