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Political ideology and the intragenerational prospect of upward mobility

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  • Laméris, Maite D.
  • Garretsen, Harry
  • Jong-A-Pin, Richard

Abstract

We re-examine the effect of prospects of upward mobility (POUM) on the support for redistribution. Unlike previous studies, we analyse this relation in an intragenerational context and consider the moderating effect of political ideology through which mobility expectations affect redistributive preferences. We find that the POUM effect is conditional on political preferences. That is, we find that only for right-wing individuals expected upward income mobility negatively affects support for redistribution. Left-wing individuals prefer redistribution, regardless of expected upward income movements.

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  • Laméris, Maite D. & Garretsen, Harry & Jong-A-Pin, Richard, 2020. "Political ideology and the intragenerational prospect of upward mobility," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:poleco:v:62:y:2020:i:c:s0176268020300021
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2020.101854
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    The POUM effect; Political ideology; Income mobility; Redistribution; Preferences;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D30 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - General
    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • J69 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Other

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