Hostname: page-component-669899f699-chc8l Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-04-25T14:28:50.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Does Class Shape Legislators’ Approach to Inequality and Economic Policy? A Comparative View

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

Alexander Hemingway Open the ORCID record for Alexander Hemingway [Opens in a new window]
Alexander Hemingway*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Do the class backgrounds of legislators shape their views and actions relating to inequality and economic policy? Building on findings about ‘white-collar government’ in the US, this article examines the relationship between legislators’ class and their attitudes and self-reported behaviour in advanced democracies, drawing on survey data from 15 countries including 73 national and subnational parliaments in Europe and Israel. I find that legislators from business backgrounds are more likely to support income inequality and small government, as well as less likely to consult with labour groups, than those from working-class and other backgrounds. These results are buttressed by analysis of an additional cross-national survey of European legislative candidates’ attitudes, which replicates key findings. Given the skewed class makeup of legislatures in advanced democracies, these findings may be relevant to our understanding of widespread economic and political inequalities that are increasingly salient in many countries.

Keywords

classrepresentationpolitical economypublic policy
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 84 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © The Author 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Government and Opposition Limited

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Andersen, R and Curtis, J (2012) The Polarizing Effect of Economic Inequality on Class Identification: Evidence from 44 Countries. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 30(1), 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2012.01.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ansolabehere, S, de Figueiredo, JM and Snyder, JM (2003) Why is There so Little Money in U.S. Politics? Journal of Economic Perspectives 17(1), 105–130. https://doi.org/10.1257/089533003321164976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, L (2008) Unequal Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Bartels, LM (2017) Political Inequality in Affluent Democracies: The Social Welfare Deficit. Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions Working Paper #5-2017. Nashville: Vanderbilt University.Google Scholar
Bawn, K, Cohen, M, Karol, D, Masket, S, Noel, H and Zaller, J (2012) A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Policy Demands and Nominations in American Politics. Perspectives on Politics 10(3), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592712001624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernauer, J, Giger, N and Rosset, J (2015) Mind the Gap: Do Proportional Electoral Systems Foster a More Equal Representation of Women and Men, Poor and Rich? International Political Science Review 36(1), 78–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512113498830.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Best, H (2007) New Challenges, New Elites? Changes in the Recruitment and Career Patterns of European Representative Elites. Comparative Sociology 6(1), 85–113. https://doi.org/10.1163/156913307X187414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Best, H and Cotta, M (eds) (2000) Parliamentary Representatives in Europe 1848–2000: Legislative Recruitment and Careers in Eleven European Countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Brady, HE, Verba, S and Schlozman, KL (1995) Beyond SES: A Resource Model of Political Participation. American Political Science Review 89(2), 271–294. https://doi.org/10.2307/2082425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burden, BC (2007) Personal Roots of Representation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, A, Converse, P, Miller, W and Stokes, D (1960) The American Voter. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Carey, JM and Shugart, MS (1995) Incentives to Cultivate a Personal Vote: A Rank Ordering of Electoral Formulas. Electoral Studies 14(4), 417–439. https://doi.org/10.1016/0261-3794(94)00035-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, N (2013) White-Collar Government: The Hidden Role of Class in Economic Policy Making. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carnes, N (2018) The Cash Ceiling: Why Only the Rich Run for Office – and What We Can Do about It. Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 1–18.Google Scholar
Carnes, N and Lupu, N (2014) Rethinking the Comparative Perspective on Class and Representation: Evidence from Latin America. American Journal of Political Science 59(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
CCS (2016) Comparative Candidates Survey Module I – 2005–2013 [Dataset – cumulative file]. Distributed by FORS, Lausanne, 2016.Google Scholar
Curtis, J (2016) Social Mobility and Class Identity: The Role of Economic Conditions in 33 Societies, 1999–2009. European Sociological Review 32(1), 108–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcv077.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, R (1961) Who Governs? New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Deschouwer, K, Depauw, S and André, A (2014) Representing the People in Parliaments. In Deschouwer, K and Depauw, S (eds), Representing the People: A Survey Among Members of Statewide and Substate Parliaments. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donnelly, M and Lefkofridi, Z (2014) Economic and Political Inequality in Modern Democracies: Differential Responsiveness to the Policy Preferences of Economic Classes (MWP Red Number Series 2014/13). Fiesole: European University Institute.Google Scholar
Eidlin, B (2014) Class Formation and Class Identity: Birth, Death, and Possibilities for Renewal. Sociology Compass 8(8), 1045–1062. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Essaiasson, P and Holmberg, S (1996) Representation from Above: Members of Parliament and Representative Democracy in Sweden. Aldershot: Dartmouth.Google Scholar
Evans, G and Tilley, J (2017) The New Politics of Class: The Political Exclusion of the British Working Class. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaxie, D (2017) Political and Social Backgrounds of Political Elites. In Best, H and Higley, J (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Political Elites. London: Palgrave, pp. 489–506.Google Scholar
Giger, N, Rosset, J and Bernauer, J (2012) The Poor Political Representation of the Poor in a Comparative Perspective. Representation 48(1), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2012.653238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilens, M (2012) Affluence and Influence: Economic Inequality and Political Power in America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gilens, M and Page, BI (2014) Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens. Perspectives on Politics 12(3), 564–581. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592714001595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grumbach, JM (2015) Does the American Dream Matter for Members of Congress? Social-Class Backgrounds and Roll-Call Votes. Political Research Quarterly 68(2), 306–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912915572902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hacker, JS and Pierson, P (2010) Winner-Take-All Politics: Public Policy, Political Organization, and the Precipitous Rise of Top Incomes in the United States. Politics and Society 38(2), 152–204. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032329210365042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hicks, T, Jacobs, AM and Matthews, JS (2016) Inequality and Electoral Accountability: Class-Biased Economic Voting in Comparative Perspective. Journal of Politics 78(4), 1076–1093. https://doi.org/10.1086/686157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hooghe, M and Oser, J (2016) Trade Union Density and Social Expenditure: A Longitudinal Analysis of Policy Feedback Effects in OECD Countries, 1980–2010. Journal of European Public Policy 23(10), 1520–1542. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2015.1102952.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hout, M (2008) How Class Works: Objective and Subjective Aspects of Class Since the 1970s. In Lareau, A and Conley, D (eds), Social Class: How Does it Work? New York: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 25–64.Google Scholar
Hyytinen, A, Meriläinen, J, Saarimaa, T, Toivanen, O and Tukiainen, J (2018) Public Employees as Politicians: Evidence from Close Elections. American Political Science Review 112(1), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055417000284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R (1997) Modernization and Postmodernization: Cultural, Economic, and Political Change in 43 Societies. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iversen, T and Soskice, D (2001) An Asset Theory of Social Policy Preferences. American Political Science Review 95(4), 875–893. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055400400079.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, LR and Shapiro, RY (2000) Politicians Don't Pander: Political Manipulation and the Loss of Democratic Responsiveness. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Kalmijn, M and Kraaykamp, G (2007) Social Stratification and Attitudes: A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Class and Education in Europe. British Journal of Sociology 58(4), 547–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00166.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Korpi, W (2006) Power Resources and Employer-Centered Approaches in Explanations of Welfare States and Varieties of Capitalism: Protagonists, Consenters, and Antagonists. World Politics 58(2), 167–206. https://doi.org/10.1353/wp.2006.0026.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindblom, C (1977) Politics and Markets: The World's Economic Systems. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Lore, G (2016) Women's Descriptive and Substantive Political Representation: The Role of Political Institutions. PhD thesis. University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Levitt, SD (1996) How Do Senators Vote? Disentangling the Role of Voter Preferences, Party Affiliation, and Senator Ideology. American Economic Review 86(3), 425–441.Google Scholar
Mansbridge, J (1999) Should Blacks Represent Blacks and Women Represent Women? A Contingent ‘Yes’, Journal of Politics 61(3), 628–657. https://doi.org/10.2307/2647821.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manza, J and Brooks, C (2008) Class and Politics. In Lareau A and Conley D (eds), Social Class: How Does it Work? New York: Russell Sage Foundation, pp. 201–231.Google Scholar
Manza, J, Hout, M and Brooks, C (1995) Class Voting in Capitalist Democracies Since World War II: Dealignment, Realignment, or Trendless Fluctuation? Annual Review of Sociology 21, 137–162. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.21.080195.001033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matthews, DR (1984) Legislative Recruitment and Legislative Careers. Legislative Studies Quarterly 9(4), 547–585.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meltzer, AH and Richard, SF (1981) A Rational Theory of the Size of Government. Journal of Political Economy 89(5), 914–927. https://doi.org/10.1086/261013.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mills, CW (1956) The Power Elite. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Norris, P (ed.) (1997) Passages to Power: Legislative Recruitment in Advanced Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Norris, P and Lovenduski, J (1995) Political Recruitment: Gender, Race and Class in the British Parliament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
O'Grady, T (2018) Careerists Versus Coal-Miners: Welfare Reforms and the Substantive Representation of Social Groups in the British Labour Party. Comparative Political Studies 52(4), 544–578. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414018784065.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Olson, JM and Stone, J (2005) The Influence of Behavior on Attitudes. In Albarricin, D, Johnson, BT and Zann, MP (eds), The Handbook of Attitudes. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 223–271.Google Scholar
Page, BI, Bartels, LM and Seawright, J (2013) Democracy and the Policy Preferences of Wealthy Americans. Perspectives on Politics 11(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1017/S153759271200360X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piketty, T (2014) Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pitkin, HF (1967) The Concept of Representation. Oakland: University of California Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rehm, P (2011) Risk Inequality and the Polarized American Electorate. British Journal of Political Science 41(2), 363–387. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123410000384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosset, J (2013) Are the Policy Preferences of Relatively Poor Citizens Under-Represented in the Swiss Parliament? Journal of Legislative Studies 19(4), 490–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2013.812363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosset, J (2016) Economic Inequality and Political Representation in Switzerland. New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Savage, M, Bagnall, G and Longhurst, B (2001) Ordinary, Ambivalent and Defensive: Class Identities in the Northwest of England. Sociology 35(4), 875–892. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038501035004005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stratmann, T (2005) Some Talk: Money in Politics. A (Partial) Review of the Literature. Public Choice 124(1–2), 135–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-005-4750-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weeden, K and Grusky, D (2005) The Case for a New Class Map. American Journal of Sociology 111(1), 141–212. https://doi.org/10.1086/428815.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wessels, B (1997) Germany. In Norris, P (ed.), Passages to Power: Legislative Recruitment in Advanced Democracies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 76–97.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Hemingway Supplementary Materials

Hemingway Supplementary Materials

Download Hemingway Supplementary Materials(File)
File 224.6 KB