From Opportunity Gaps to Redistribution Demands: Evidence from European Regions

This paper investigates how different sources of income inequality shape individual preferences for redistribution across European regions. Using EU-SILC microdata and the intergenerational transmission of disadvantages modules (2005, 2011, and 2019), we construct regional measures of income inequality of opportunity across 132 European regions. These indicators are combined with individual-level data from the European Social Survey to examine how regional opportunity structures and individual exposure to disadvantaged circumstances affect redistributive preferences. Our results show that inequality of opportunity is a strong and robust predictor of support for redistribution, while overall income inequality and inequality of effort display weak or insignificant effects. Individuals living in regions with higher inequality of opportunity are significantly more likely to support redistributive policies. In addition, we construct an individual-level opportunity disadvantage index capturing the probability of having experienced limited opportunities during income formation. This measure is also strongly associated with redistributive preferences, suggesting that both contextual and personal exposure to unfair inequality shape attitudes toward redistribution.