Does information about economic inequality affect opportunity beliefs? Results from survey experiments
Organizer
Department of Sociology and Social Policy, Lingnan University
Event Title
Sociology Seminar Series 2022-2023
Document Type
Public Seminar
Date
10-27-2022
Time
10:00 a.m. -- 11:30 a.m.
Venue
Online Session via Zoom
Department
Sociology and Social Policy
Description
Social structures in contemporary societies have undergone significant changes over the last few decades. In advanced economies, there has been an increase in socioeconomic inequality and pressure to dismantle the welfare state. At this juncture of institutional change, understanding preferences of the causes of inequality becomes crucial, as these attitudes are critical for supporting or impeding policy reforms. The present investigation aims to contribute to the understanding of the effect of information about dimensions of socio-economic inequality on individuals’ beliefs, through an experimental study. Specifically, the study assesses how information about changes in the social structure of Chilean society affect the perception about the importance of structural and individual factors in “getting ahead”. Drawing on studies that focus on beliefs about inequality and opportunity rather than redistributive preferences, this model proposes that perceptions of increasing economic inequality generates skepticism about the existence of economic opportunities in the society. Furthermore, we evaluate the direction of perceptions’ updates to identify heterogeneity among participants in the experiment.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Maldonado, L. (2022, October 27). Does information about economic inequality affect opportunity beliefs? Results from survey experiments [Video podcast]. Retrieved from https://commons.ln.edu.hk/videos/959/
Additional Information
Speaker Biography
Dr. Luis Maldonado is an associate professor in the Institute of Sociologia at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica of Chile and Doctor in economics and social sciences (University of Cologne, Germany), with affiliation in the The Research Center for Integrated Risk Management (CIGIDEN) and Centre for Social Conflict and Cohesion Studies (COES), Chile. His research focuses on economic inequality, disasters, and quantitative methods. His work has been published in American Behavioral Scientists, Social Justice Research, International Journal of Educational Development, among others.