The impact of issue politicization around redistribution on support for equality and its ideological divides

Abstract

This paper investigates whether there is a link between issue politicization around redistribution and public support for equality. Specifically, the study uses three dimensions of politicization (i.e., salience, position and polarization) to examine how politicization of redistribution among political parties relates to popular support for equality as well as whether this varies across ideological groups, thereby analysing ideological divides around these issues. To empirically investigate these dynamics, the study utilizes multilevel modelling, employing data from 27 countries of the European Social Survey 2019 and the Chapel Hill Expert Survey. Results indicate that none of the dimensions of politicization explain average support for equality, suggesting the absence of an aggregate politicization-public opinion link in the welfare state. However, stronger polarization among political parties does relate to stronger ideological disagreement on equality among the public. These results indicate that the political climate still plays a role, although differently for various ideological groups.