Social mobility beliefs and attitudes toward redistribution: Potential explanatory mechanisms

Abstract

Economic inequality is a significant problem of modern society, and redistributive policies are one of the most effective tools for reducing it. Previous studies have highlighted the importance of social mobility to understand attitudes toward redistribution. Across three preregistered studies (N = 2475; one cross-sectional and two experimental) in different countries (Italy and Spain), we investigated the relationship between upward and downward societal mobility beliefs and attitudes toward redistribution, as well as potential explanatory mechanisms. Results showed that when people believe that it is easy to improve the socioeconomic status in their society, they oppose redistributive policies; conversely, when people believe that is difficult, they support redistributive policies. Importantly, meritocratic beliefs explained the upward mobility effect on redistribution, and perceived personal economic risks accounted for the downward mobility effect. Implications of these results for the design of policies to reduce economic inequality are discussed.