Does Class Shape Legislators’ Approach to Inequality and Economic Policy? A Comparative View

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Alexander Hemingway
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
White Collar ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National ◽  
Advanced Democracies

Abstract Do the class backgrounds of legislators shape their views and actions relating to inequality and economic policy? Building on findings about ‘white-collar government’ in the US, this article examines the relationship between legislators’ class and their attitudes and self-reported behaviour in advanced democracies, drawing on survey data from 15 countries including 73 national and subnational parliaments in Europe and Israel. I find that legislators from business backgrounds are more likely to support income inequality and small government, as well as less likely to consult with labour groups, than those from working-class and other backgrounds. These results are buttressed by analysis of an additional cross-national survey of European legislative candidates’ attitudes, which replicates key findings. Given the skewed class makeup of legislatures in advanced democracies, these findings may be relevant to our understanding of widespread economic and political inequalities that are increasingly salient in many countries.

The New Progressive Dilemma through the Lens of Comparative Welfare State and Party Research

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis C. Spies
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Attitudinal Change ◽  
Welfare Institutions ◽  
The Us ◽  
Social Expenditures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

The chapter summarizes the New Progressive Dilemma (NPD) debate, identifying three arguments from comparative welfare state and party research likely to be relevant to the relationship between immigration and welfare state retrenchment: public opinion, welfare institutions, and political parties. Alignment of anti-immigrant sentiments and welfare support varies considerably between countries, especially between the US and Europe, leading to different party incentives vis-à-vis welfare state retrenchment. The chapter introduces insights from comparative welfare state and party research to the debate, discussing inter alia, political parties in terms of welfare retrenchment, immigrants as a voter group, and cross-national variation of existing welfare institutions. It addresses the complex debates around attitudinal change caused by immigration, levels of welfare support, voting behavior, and social expenditures. Combining these strands of literature, a common theoretical framework is developed that is subsequently applied to both the US and Western European context.

scholarly journals Income Inequality and Population Health: A Global Gradient?

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Curran ◽  
Matthew C. Mahutga
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Fixed Effects Models ◽  
Two Measures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Lower Population ◽  
Cross National

Cross-national empirical research about the link between income inequality and population health produces conflicting conclusions. We address these mixed findings by examining the degree to which the income inequality and health relationship varies with economic development. We estimate fixed-effects models with different measures of income inequality and population health. Results suggest that development moderates the association between inequality and two measures of population health. Our findings produce two generalizations. First, we observe a global gradient in the relationship between income inequality and population health. Second, our results are consistent with income inequality as a proximate or conditional cause of lower population health. Income inequality has a 139.7% to 374.3% more harmful effect on health in poorer than richer countries and a significantly harmful effect in 2.1% to 53.3% of countries in our sample and 6.6% to 67.6% of the world’s population but no significantly harmful effect in richer countries.

East Asian Social Survey (EASS), Cross-National Survey Data Sets: Culture and Globalization in East Asia, 2008

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Hwa Chang (TSCS) ◽  
Noriko Iwai (JGSS) ◽  
Lulu Li (CGSS) ◽  
Sang-Wook Kim (KGSS)
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Cross National

scholarly journals Unlikely Friends of the Authoritarian and Atheist Ruler: Religious Groups and Collective Contention in Rural China

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Tao
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Communication Channels ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Comparative Case Studies ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis article examines the roles played by rural religious groups in China's local contentious politics. More specifically, it aims to explore whether religious groups stimulate or reduce collective contention when the ruler is both authoritarian and atheist. Drawing on national survey data and comparative case studies, this article finds that collective contention is less likely to occur in villages with religious groups that simultaneously overlap with secular social organizations and local authorities, and are hence more likely to serve as credible communication channels between local states and discontented citizens. This finding highlights two important issues that are often side-lined, if not outright neglected, in the existing literature. First, the relationship between religious groups and collective contention is diverse rather than uniform. Second, this relationship is shaped not only by religious groups but also by other important players in the local political arena.

Consultancy Services and the Urban Hierarchy in Western Europe

1992 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 1731-1748 ◽  
Author(s):  
P W Daniels ◽  
J H J Van Dinteren ◽  
M C Monnoyer
Keyword(s):  
National Survey ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Client Characteristics ◽  
Urban Hierarchy ◽  
Business Services ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

A cross-national survey of the relationship between the evolving organisation and structure of consultancy service enterprises and the urban hierarchy in Europe has been undertaken. Primate cities in Europe are still the preeminent foci for business services performing strong national and international control. The relationship between markets for consultancy services and the urban hierarchy is complex, but it is possible to suggest a typology of firms on the basis of client characteristics and location. Caution is necessary about assuming that the provision of consultancy services through networks is organised along hierarchical lines that mirror administrative hierarchies.

scholarly journals Impact of US Economic Policy Uncertainty on Geopolitical Risk. Evidence from BRIC Economies

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-496
Author(s):  
Imtiaz Arif ◽  
Amna Sohail Rawat ◽  
Muhammad Shahbaz
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Financial Market ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Policy Uncertainty ◽  
Estimation Technique ◽  
Economic Policy Uncertainty ◽  
Bric Countries ◽  
The Us ◽  
Asymmetric Relation ◽  
The Relationship

This paper estimates the relationship between US economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk in the BRIC economies.1 Due to the assumption of a non-linear and asymmetric relation between US economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk of BRIC countries, a nonparametric estimation technique, Quantile on Quantile approach has been used for empirical analysis. The empirical results revealed that the relationship between the US economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risk of BRIC economies is heterogeneous in nature. We noted that economic policy uncertainty in the US is negatively related to geopolitical risk in Chinese and Russian economies. However, for Indian and Brazilian economies US economic policy uncertainty is positively related to geopolitical risk. The outcomes of the study will be helpful for the investors and financial market players for taking investment decisions. It will also benefit the legislators and policymakers in making policies that could make their respective economies insulated from foreign policy risks.

scholarly journals Sampling and fieldwork practices in Europe: Analysis of methodological documentation from 1,537 surveys in five cross-national projects, 1981-2017

Methodology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-207
Author(s):  
Piotr Jabkowski ◽  
Marta Kołczyńska
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Comparative Analyses ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Samples And Sampling ◽  
Survey Methodologies ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Cross National

This article addresses the comparability of sampling and fieldwork with an analysis of methodological data describing 1,537 national surveys from five major comparative cross-national survey projects in Europe carried out in the period from 1981 to 2017. We describe the variation in the quality of the survey documentation, and in the survey methodologies themselves, focusing on survey procedures with respect to: 1) sampling frames, 2) types of survey samples and sampling designs, 3) within-household selection of target persons in address-based samples, 4) fieldwork execution and 5) fieldwork outcome rates. Our results show substantial differences in sample designs and fieldwork procedures across survey projects, as well as changes within projects over time. This variation invites caution when selecting data for analysis. We conclude with recommendations regarding the use of information about the survey process to select existing survey data for comparative analyses.

scholarly journals How class identities shape highbrow consumption: A cross-national analysis of 30 European countries and regions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Reeves
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Cultural Capital ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Class Identity ◽  
Using Data ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

Highbrow culture may not always be central to cultural capital and, in such circumstances, the distinctiveness of middle-class consumption of highbrow culture may diminish, becoming more similar to working-class consumption. Using data from 30 European countries, I explore this issue through examining three questions: 1) is class identity associated with highbrow consumption; 2) does this association vary across countries; and 3) is the relationship between class identity and highbrow consumption altered when the majority of people in a given society identify as either ‘working-class’ or ‘middle-class’? After accounting for other socio-demographic controls, people who identify as middle-class are more active highbrow consumers than those who identify as working class. Yet, the distinctiveness of middle-class consumption of highbrow culture varies across countries and is negatively correlated with how many people identify as working-class in a society. As more people identify as working-class (rejecting middle-class identities) highbrow culture less clearly distinguishes middle-class and working-class identifiers. In the absence of any class-structured divisions in highbrow culture, whether and how cultural practices function as a form of cultural capital is likely quite different, reinforcing the claim that the centrality of highbrow culture to cultural capital varies geographically.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document