How does Inequality Hamper Subjective Well-being? The Role of Fairness

Uğur, Zeynep B.

doi:10.1007/s11205-021-02711-w

Cited by 22 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…People are quite tolerable of inequality that is perceived as a result of a fair allocation mechanism. Ugur (2021) suggests that individuals’ perceptions of fairness primarily affect inequality aversion. The underlying reason might be the perceived unfairness increases as the inequality increases and that influences the process of how inequality affects happiness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Wealth Inequality Affects Happiness: The Perspective of Social Comparison

Gao

Sun

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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Since Easterlin pointed out that economic growth in nations does not guarantee increasing happiness for the average citizen, the underlying reason has remained controversial. The present study focuses on income inequality to explain the “Easterlin Paradox,” ignoring the permanent inequality that long-term wealth accumulation brings. Based on social comparison theory, the literature aims to determine how wealth inequality, which accompanies economic growth, diminishes one’s happiness (inequality aversion). Specifically, we conduct this study in which we split the wealth inequality into the upward wealth inequality and the downward wealth inequality as measures of upward comparison and downward comparison, respectively. The upward wealth inequality measures the average gap between one and the better-off in wealth while the downward wealth inequality measures the average gap between one and the worse-off in wealth. Furthermore, the heterogeneity of the area of respondent is analyzed and the family life cycle is tested as a moderator. The main findings of the paper are as follows: (1) The empirical test results of hypothesis 1 indicate that the upward wealth inequality aversion (jealousy effect: people envy who is richer than themselves) is stronger than the downward wealth inequality inclination (proud effect: people enjoy having a superior position in the wealth hierarchy). It is due to the psychological preference: loss aversion. As an increase in upward distance implies a loss in relative status and an increase in downward distance implies a gain in relative status, people focus more on loss rather than gain. (2) The empirical test results of hypothesis 2 indicate that residents who live in rural areas do not have a proud effect as much as those who live in urban areas. There is a huge urban-rural wealth gap in China. With the expansion of the social network, people living in rural areas realize that even he is almost the rich in rural areas but still the lower classes in the whole society. It is hard for rural residents to have a proud effect. (3) The empirical test results of hypothesis 3 indicate that family members have the strongest upward inequality aversion in the middle-stage phase of the life cycle (when the family head is approximately 50). During the family life cycle, inequality aversion will be different in different life stages due to the changes in economic status expectations. At the beginning of the family life cycle, family members assume their life has limitless possibilities, and they have high expectations for the future. Logically, they can be easily satisfied by achieving a little more than their peers. In later periods, with increasing age, the members will pay more attention to health instead of wealth. The results shed light on how macroeconomics influence changes in individual psychology.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Wealth Inequality Affects Happiness: The Perspective of Social Comparison

Gao

Sun

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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“…Of great note, after adding distributive unfairness perception as a mediator, the direct effect of inequality perception on meritocratic belief became insignificant, hinting at an important role of perceived unfairness on meritocratic belief. This finding further supports that people's response to inequality is primarily driven by fairness concerns (Ugur, 2021). Finally, we failed to prove the moderating role of SES on the direct and indirect association of perceived inequality and meritocratic belief.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 51%

Economic Inequality Perception Dampens Meritocratic Belief in China: The Mediating Role of Perceived Distributive Unfairness

Zhu¹,

Cheng²,

Li³

et al. 2022

rips

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In three studies, we investigated the impact of economic inequality on beliefs about meritocracy and potential mechanisms among the Chinese. Study 1 (N = 19,641) longitudinally substantiated that beliefs about meritocracy abate in tandem with the increasing inequality perception but not objective economic inequality (Gini coefficient). Studies 2a (N = 140) and 2b (N = 269) experimentally showed that inequality perception decreases belief in meritocracy. The lower classes were less willing to believe in meritocracy than the upper classes when exposed to inequality cues (Studies 1 and 2b). In Study 3 (N = 218), we again manipulated the level of economic inequality and found that laypeople construing distribution as unfair mediated the relationship between inequality perception and meritocratic belief. We highlighted that people's interpretation of economic inequality might influence their beliefs about merit.

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“…Another concern might be my modelling approach which investigated pay satisfaction and pay justice perceptions as independent social indicators. Recent research, however, suggests that pay fairness is a crucial mediator that explains why pay inequality affects people's well-being in different ways (Ugur, 2021). Therefore pay justice could be a precondition for pay satisfaction (Adriaans 2022;Narisada & Schieman, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Pay Satisfaction and Pay Justice: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Valet

2023

Soc Indic Res

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Individual perceptions of pay satisfaction and pay justice are closely related social indicators. Notwithstanding their apparent resemblance, there are essential theoretical differences between those two concepts. Yet, we know little if people merely consider pay satisfaction and pay justice as two sides of the same coin. This paper theorizes two situations in which people’s perceptions of pay satisfaction and pay justice should differ in meaningful ways. First, their pay level should affect people’s self-interest and thus have a stronger effect on their pay satisfaction than on pay justice. Second, pay inequality in the workplace should affect people morally and thus should have a stronger effect on their pay justice perception than on pay satisfaction. These hypotheses were tested with linked employer-employee data collected in Germany (N = 2.695). Results of regression analyses with multiple dependent variables show that people’s pay satisfaction and pay justice perceptions increased with the level of their individual pay and decreased with the degree of workplace inequality. The pay effect was significantly stronger on pay satisfaction than on pay justice while the workplace inequality effects did not differ significantly. These results suggest that people under specific circumstances differentiate between pay satisfaction and pay justice. Consequently, researchers should consider that their results and conclusions might differ if they analyze pay satisfaction instead of pay justice and vice versa.

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How does Inequality Hamper Subjective Well-being? The Role of Fairness

Cited by 22 publications

References 47 publications

How Wealth Inequality Affects Happiness: The Perspective of Social Comparison

How Wealth Inequality Affects Happiness: The Perspective of Social Comparison

Economic Inequality Perception Dampens Meritocratic Belief in China: The Mediating Role of Perceived Distributive Unfairness

Perceptions of Pay Satisfaction and Pay Justice: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

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