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Fading hope and the rise in inequality in the United States

Author

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  • Ritzen, Jo

    (UNU‐MERIT, Maastricht University)

  • Zimmermann, Klaus

    (Center for European Studies, Harvard University)

Abstract

A substantial literature claims that the strong increase in inequality over the last decade in Western industrial countries such as the United States (US) would lead to increasing tensions between different socio-economic groups which might in turn hamper economic growth. The population's fading hopes regarding the outlook on the future seem to confirm this. This paper qualifies this interpretation using survey data collected by the Pew Research Center for the People covering 1999-2014. Over the first decade, the decline in hope cannot be traced back to the rising inequality. However, recent data from 2014 suggest that inequality is now a major driver of a lower than ever level of hope. Hence inequality is a recent factor, not the driver of the long-term decline in hope.

Suggested Citation

  • Ritzen, Jo & Zimmermann, Klaus, 2016. "Fading hope and the rise in inequality in the United States," MERIT Working Papers 2016-025, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2016025
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    File URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2016/wp2016-025.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yuji Genda, 2016. "An International Comparison of Hope and Happiness in Japan, the UK, and the US," Social Science Japan Journal, University of Tokyo and Oxford University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 153-172.
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    3. Brian Burgoon, 2013. "Inequality and anti-globalization backlash by political parties," European Union Politics, , vol. 14(3), pages 408-435, September.
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    5. Albert O. Hirschman & Michael Rothschild, 1973. "The Changing Tolerance for Income Inequality in the Course of Economic DevelopmentWith A Mathematical Appendix," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(4), pages 544-566.
    6. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2015. "The path from cause to effect: mastering 'metrics," CentrePiece - The magazine for economic performance 442, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Emmanuel Saez, 2015. "Striking it Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United States (Updated with 2013 preliminary estimates)," Technical Notes 201501, World Inequality Lab.
    8. Raghuram G. Rajan, 2010. "Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9111.
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    Cited by:

    1. Dorian Kessler, 2020. "Economic Gender Equality and the Decline of Alimony in Switzerland," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(3), pages 493-518, September.
    2. Stefan Schneck, 2020. "Self-employment as a source of income inequality," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(1), pages 45-64, March.
    3. Marina Faďoš & Mária Bohdalová, 2019. "Unemployment gender inequality: evidence from the 27 European Union countries," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 9(3), pages 349-371, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Confidence; ethnicity; hope; human capital; income inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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