Publication

This paper explores the role perceptions of social conflict (the rising tensions and the breakdown of social trust within different groups in a society) play in demands for redistributive policies. Using data on the perceptions of 15,000 individuals from 40 countries on this topic, the authors find that perceptions of social conflict have a strong influence on people’s demand for redistribution from their governments. However, they also find that these effects seem to be stronger at lower levels of actual inequality and lower levels of actual social conflict, suggesting that governments need to act quickly when inequality is starting to rise in order to capitalize on support for redistributive policies.