Social gaps, perceived inequality and protests

Olivier Bargain, H. Xavier Jara and David Rivera

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Latent feelings of economic vulnerability and social stagnation may have catalyzed the unprecedented uprisings that shook Latin America and other parts of the world in 2018-2019. We document this process in the context of Chile, leveraging survey data on protest participation and its potential determinants. Specifically, we construct a “social gap” index, measuring the disconnect between objective and perceived social status. Our findings suggest that this status misperception predicts protest involvement beyond factors such as perceived living costs, the subjective value of public services, peer influence, redistributive views and political demands. Notably, the social gap operates independently of broader feelings of unfairness and anger toward inequalities in explaining protests.

Keywords: protests; social gap; perceived inequality; social status (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 D74 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11-03
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Published in World Development, 3, November, 2025, 199. ISSN: 0305-750X

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Journal Article: Social gaps, perceived inequality and protests (2026)
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