Inequality in Europe: Reality, Perceptions, and Hopes

Alessandra Faggian, Alessandra Michelangeli and Kateryna Tkach

No 489, Working Papers from University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics

Abstract: Is actual inequality accurately translated into people’s perceptions, and what are the genuine hopes of citizens? Our contribution offers insights into how the reality and two subjective dimensions of inequality, namely perceptions, and desires, interact. Using data from the Eurobarometer, we study the main patterns of different “types” of inequality in the European NUTS2 regions. Considering the role of attitudes and beliefs, the residents of the same region are typically found to hold a similar perception of how unequal their society is. Moreover, and somewhat surprisingly, the reality is contrary to people’s perception since low (high) actual inequality in the region is often reflected in its overestimated (underestimated) perception. We also show that perceived, and desired inequality are distinct metrics as commonly applied determinants of perceptions are rather weakly associated with desired inequality, probably due to the normative nature of the latter. The evidence presented here implies that objective measures of inequality should be used in conjunction with subjective ones to gain a complete picture of the phenomenon. Our findings may assist policy-makers and other interested stakeholders in designing dedicated policies to counteract inequality in all its forms.

Keywords: income inequality; inequality perceptions; desired inequality; Europe. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 D63 D83 I31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2022-02, Revised 2022-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur
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Working Paper: Inequality in Europe: Reality, Perceptions, and Hopes (2022)
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