Presenting at ISJR Conference 2023

Sharing Research on Redistribution Preferences of the European Foreign-born

July 26, 2023

Dr. Simone Schneider presented her findings from the PERGAP project in a talk titled When do we prefer more Redistribution? Studying the Effects of Income Inequality and related Social Policies on Preference Formation Processes at the 19th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for Justice Research, hosted by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU).

Simone´s presentation focussed on how income inequality and state interventions shape redistribution preferences of European foreign-born individuals – those residing in a European country they were not born in. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002-2020), her study examined three key aspects of preference formation among foreign-born residents:

  1. the influence of socio-economic and institutional conditions in the country of residence;
  2. the impact of referential standards and previous experiences in the country of origin;
  3. the role of the time spent in the destination country.

Her findings revealed that knowledge and experience of different economic and institutional settings significantly shape individuals’ views on the government’s role in redistribution. Initially, foreign-born residents tend to be more sceptical towards redistribution, but over time, they increasingly align with the majority population in the host country. The level of economic inequality and redistributive state efforts in the country of residence and the country of origin shape preferences. This adaptation process highlights the importance of institutional exposure and integration in shaping public opinion on economic inequality.

Simone´s presentation was part of the session on Economic Inequality which drew an international audience of scholars, predominantly from sociology and social psychology. The session sparked critical discussions on the diverse empirical approaches to perceptions and preferences toward inequality within the framework of empirical social justice theory, enriching debates on institutional adaptation and the dynamics of preference formation – key themes of the PERGAP project.

 

Learn more about the International Society for Justice Research here: