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Does self-perceptions and income inequality match?

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  • Philipp Poppitz

Abstract

This paper examines subjective social status to test whether individual comparisons are driven by income and wealth, or social and cultural capital as defined by Bourdieu. The empirical analysis uses a cross-sectional data set of 18 European countries and a mixed model with an MCMC estimation method. The results show that material factors are just as important as non-material factors. Besides income and wealth, other dimensions of inequality including education, occupational prestige, parental background and working status are important factors to explain the gap between the income distribution and subjective social status. The most relevant institutions to explain the cross-country differences within Europe are the GDP level, average health and the education system, which also moderates the relevance of wealth on subjective social status.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Poppitz, 2016. "Does self-perceptions and income inequality match?," IMK Working Paper 173-2016, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:imk:wpaper:173-2016
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Poppitz, 2019. "Multidimensional Inequality and Divergence: The Eurozone Crisis in Retrospect," Working Papers V-420-19, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Feb 2019.
    2. Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2020. "The Effects of Income Transparency on Well-Being: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(4), pages 1019-1054, April.
    3. Philipp Poppitz, 2017. "Can subjective data improve inequality measurement? A multidimensional index of economic inequality," Working Papers 446, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Pohlan, Laura, 2024. "Unemployment's long shadow: the persistent impact on social exclusion," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 58, pages 1-12.
    5. Philipp Poppitz, 2019. "Can Subjective Data Improve the Measurement of Inequality? A Multidimensional Index of Economic Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 146(3), pages 511-531, December.
    6. Granja, Cintia & Visentin, Fabiana & Carneiro, Ana Maria, 2023. "Can international mobility shape students' attitudes toward inequality?," MERIT Working Papers 2023-001, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    7. Dietmar Fehr & Johanna Mollerstrom & Ricardo Perez-Truglia, 2022. "Your Place in the World: Relative Income and Global Inequality," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 232-268, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; Perception; Social Status; Bourdieu; Education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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