Perceived Inequality, Reference Groups and Preferences for Redistribution Among High Earners

Traveling to die in another country is a morbid, but pertinent, topic that remains underresearched in tourism. This project aims to address this research gap by examining the underlying motivations of actual individual travelers who have travelled to Switzerland as their final life destination to commit physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Using documentaries from major news channels, content analysis was conducted to systematically examine interviews conducted with actual PAS travelers ( n = 26) before they ended their life legally through PAS in Switzerland. An extension of the theory of planned behavior with anticipated guilt was commissioned as the theoretical lens to investigate the actual behavior of travelers who have committed PAS. A total of three key attitudes, three social groups, and four perceived constraints were identified. Results identified putting an end to suffering and to die with dignity as key attitudinal items influencing PAS behavior. The reference groups of family and relatives emerged as key salient normative groups. With regard to perceived difficulties, lack of access to facilities and high financial costs were key constraints in the decision to commit PAS. A key contribution of this research found evidence of anticipated guilt as an additional theory of planned behavior variable in actual PAS behavior.

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The Politics of Part-Time Work: Gender, Employment Status, and Preferences for Redistribution

Politics & Gender ◽

10.1017/s1743923x20000653 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-38

Author(s):

David S. Pedulla ◽

Michael J. Donnelly

Keyword(s):

Employment Status ◽

General Social Survey ◽

The United States ◽

Limited Attention ◽

Full Time ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Preferences For Redistribution ◽

Time Work ◽

Part Time ◽

Part Time Work

Abstract The social and economic forces that shape attitudes toward the welfare state are of central concern to social scientists. Scholarship in this area has paid limited attention to how working part-time, the employment status of nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce, affects redistribution preferences. In this article, we theoretically develop and empirically test an argument about the ways that part-time work, and its relationship to gender, shape redistribution preferences. We articulate two gender-differentiated pathways—one material and one about threats to social status—through which part-time work and gender may jointly shape individuals’ preferences for redistribution. We test our argument using cross-sectional and panel data from the General Social Survey in the United States. We find that the positive relationship between part-time employment, compared to full-time employment, and redistribution preferences is stronger for men than for women. Indeed, we do not detect a relationship between part-time work and redistribution preferences among women. Our results provide support for a gendered relationship between part-time employment and redistribution preferences and demonstrate that both material and status-based mechanisms shape this association.

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