Exploring Subjective Income Inequality in Europe and MENA Regions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12775/bgss-2025-0004Keywords
MENA Regions, subjective income inequality, income class stratification, regional differencesAbstract
This article examines the relationship between income inequalities and attitudes toward them in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA) regions, representing the world's most equal and unequal regions. Utilizing data from the joint European Values Survey - World Values Survey, World Income Inequality Database, and the Standardized World Income Inequality Database, the study uncovers significant differences in subjective inequalities between these regions and assesses the impact of internal income stratifications within societies. The key findings demonstrated significant differences in subjective inequalities between the European and MENA regions, which are not confirmed within the regions. Generally, there is a greater acceptance of income inequalities in MENA countries than in Europe. The results also revealed that in Europe, attitudes toward income inequalities are more diversified within income class stratification, with higher income classes tending to have a more positive attitude towards income inequalities than lower ones.
References
Aczel, A. (1996). Complete Business Statistics. McGraw-Hill Education (ISE Editions).
Boix, C. (2003). Democracy and redistribution. Cambridge University Press.
Bussolo, M., Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell, A., Giolbas, A., & Torre, I. (2021). I Perceive Therefore I Demand: The Formation of Inequality Perceptions and Demand for Redistribution. Review of Income and Wealth, 67(4): 835–871. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12497.
Chancel, L., Piketty, T., Saez, E., & Zucman, G. (ed.) (2022). World Inequality Report 2022, World Inequality Lab.
Coppedge, M., Gerring, J., Altman, D., Bernhard, M., Fish, S., Hicken, A., Kroenig, M., Lindberg, S.I., McMann, K., Paxton, P., Semetko, H.A., Skaaning, S.-E., Staton, J., & Teorell, J. (2011). Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach. Perspectives on Politics, 9(2): 247-267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592711000880.
Corneo, G., & Grüner, H.P. (2002). Individual preferences for political redistribution. Journal of Public Economics, 83(1): 83-107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2727(00)00172-9.
Curtis, J., & Andersen, R. (2015). How Social Class Shapes Attitudes on Economic Inequality: The Competing Forces of Self-Interest and Legitimation. International Review of Social Research. 5(1): 4–19. DOI: 10.1515/irsr-2015-0002.
Czerniak, A., Graca-Gelert, P., & Łuczyn, R. (2018). Percepcja nierówności dochodowych a poparcie polskich partii politycznych w latach 2007-2015 (Perception of income inequality and support of Polish political parties 2007-2015 – in Polish). Przegląd Socjologiczny, 67(2): 9-33. DOI: Doi: https://doi.org/10.26485/PS/2018/67.2/1.
Dadush, U., & Saoudi, H. (2019). Inequality in Morocco: An International Perspective. Policy Brief, PB-19/31.
Eibl, F. (2020). Social Dictatorships. The Political Economy of the Welfare State in the Middle East and North Africa. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198834274.001.0001.
Erikson, R., & Goldthorpe, J. (1992). The constant flux: A study of class: Mobility in industrial countries, Oxford University Press.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, Princeton University Press.
Eurofound (2014). Developing a Country Typology for Analysing Quality of Life in Europe, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
European Commission (2023). Perceptions of inequality and fairness: What has changed over the past 5 years? Fairness Policy Brief 1, JRC131980.
EVS (2022). European Values Study 2017: Integrated Dataset (EVS 2017). GESIS Data Archive, Cologne. ZA7500 Data file Version 5.0.0,
Freedom House (2024). Freedom in the World Dataset. Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores.
Gallie, D., & Paugam, S. (ed.) (2000). The Welfare Regimes and the Experience of Unemployment in Europe, Oxford University Press.
Giangregorio, L. (2022). Welfare type and income inequality: an income source decomposition including in kind benefits and cash-transfers entitlement. International Tax and Public Finance, 1-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10797-022-09772-8.
Giczi, J. (ed.) (2024). Sustainable development in the European Union Overview of progress towards the SDGs in an EU context, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
Gijsberts, M. (2002). The Legitimation of Income Inequality in State-socialist and Market Societies. Acta Sociologica, 45(4): 269-285. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123416000326.
Gimpelson, V. & Treisman, D. (2018). Misperceiving inequality. Economics & Politics, 30(1): 27-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecpo.12103.
Göll, E., Uhl, A., & Zwiers, J. (2019). Sustainable Development in the MENA Region, MENARA Future Notes, 20.
Gradín, C. (2024). Revisiting the trends in global inequality. World Development, 179: 106607. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2024.106607.
Gugushvili, A., & Reeves, A. (2021). How democracy alters our view of inequality — and what it means for our health. Social Science & Medicine, 283: 114190. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114190.
Haddon, E., & Wu, C. (2022). How Does Actual Inequality Shape People’s Perceptions of Inequality? A Class Perspective. Sociological Perspectives, 65(5): 825–847. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0731121421106210.
Hadler, M. (2005). Why do people accept different income ratios?, Acta Sociologica, 48(2): 131-154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699305053768.
Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano J., Lagos, M., Norris, P., Ponarin, E., & Puranen B. (Eds.) (2022). World Values Survey: Round Seven–Country-Pooled Datafile. Madrid, Spain & Vienna, Austria: JD Systems Institute & WVSA Secretariat. Version. 5.0.0.
Hasanaj, V. (2023). Global Patterns of Contemporary Welfare States. Journal of Social Policy, 52(4): 886–922. DOI: 10.1017/S004727942100103.
ILO (2022). International standard classification of occupation. Available at: https://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/docs/groupdefn08.pdf.
Indrakesuma, T.R., Janz, E., & Wai-Poi, M.G. (2015) A perceived divide: how Indonesians perceive inequality and what they want done about it. Washington, World Bank Group. Available at: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/310491467987873894/A-perceived-divide-how-Indonesians-perceive-inequality-and-what-they-want-done-about-it.
Jakobsen, T.G. (2011). Welfare Attitudes and Social Expenditure: Do Regimes Shape Public Opinion? Social Indicators Research, 101, 323–340. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9666-8.
Jetten, J., Wang, Z., Steffens, N.K., Mols, F., Peters, K., & Verkuyten, M. (2017). A social identity analysis of responses to economic inequality. Current opinion in psychology, 18: 1–5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.05.011.
Kelley, J., & Zagórski, K. (2004). Economic Change and the Legitimation of Inequality: The Transition from Socialism to the Free Market in Central-East Europe. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 22(4): 319-364. DOI: 10.1016/S0276-5624(04)22011-X.
Kenworthy, L., & McCall, L. (2008). Inequality, Public Opinion, and Redistribution. Socio-Economic Review 6(1): 35-68. DOI: 10.1093/ser/mwm006.
Knell, M., & Stix, H. (2020). Perceptions of inequality. European Journal of Political Economy, 65: 101927. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2020.101927.
Knutsen, C. H., & Rasmussen, M. (2018). The Autocratic Welfare State: Old-Age Pensions, Credible Commitments, and Regime Survival. Comparative Political Studies, 51(5): 659-695. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017710265.
Korpi, W., & Palme, J. (1998). The Paradox of Redistribution and Strategies of Equality: Welfare State Institutions, Inequality and Poverty in the Western Countries. Americal Sociological Review, 63(5). DOI: 10.2307/2657333.
Kuhn, A. (2020). The individual (mis-)perception of wage inequality: measurement, correlates and implications. Empirical Economics, 59: 2039–2069. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-019-01722-4.
Larsen, C.A. (2016). How three Narratives of Modernity justify Economic Inequality. Acta Sociologica, 59(2): 93-111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699315622801.
Lindberg, S.I., McMann, K., Paxton, P., Semetko, H.A., Skaaning. S.E., Staton, J. & Teorell, J. (2011). Conceptualizing and measuring democracy: a new approach. Perspectives on Politics, 9: 247–267.
Litwiński, M., Iwański, R., & Tomczak, Ł. (2023). Acceptance for Income Inequality in Poland, Social Indicators Research, 166: 381-412. DOI: doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03072-2.
Marsaglia, G., Tsang, W.W., & Wang, J. (2003). Evaluating Kolmogorov's Distribution. Journal of Statistical Software, 8 (18), 1– 4. DOI: 10.18637/jss.v008.i18.
Mazzilli, C., Hagen-Zanker, J., & Leon-Himmelstine, C. (2024). Why, When and How? The Role of Inequality in Migration Decision-making. In: Crawley, H., Teye, J.K. (Eds.) The Palgrave Handbook of South - South Migration and Inequality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-39814-8_21.
McCall, L. (2013). The Undeserving Rich. American Beliefs about Inequality, Opportunity, and Redistribution, Cambridge University Press.
McCall, L., & Kenworthy, L. (2009). Americans’ social policy preferences in the era of rising inequality. Perspectives on Politics, 7(3), 459–484. Political and Policy Responses to Problems of Inequality and Opportunity: Past, Present, and Future. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299158917_Political_and_Policy_Responses_to_Problems_of_Inequality_and_Opportunity_Past_Present_and_Future (Accessed 25 July 2024).
Mijs, J.J.B. (2019) The paradox of inequality: income inequality and belief in meritocracy go hand in hand. Socio-Economic Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwy051.
Milanovic, B. (2024). The three eras of global inequality, 1820–2020 with the focus on the past thirty years. World Development, 177: 106516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106516.
Moshrif, R. (2020). Income inequality in the Middle East. World Bank, 10.
OECD (2019). Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/689afed1-en.
OECD (2021). Does Inequality Matter? How People Perceive Economic Disparities and Social Mobility, OECD Publishing, Paris.
Panaro, A.V., & Vaccaro, A. (2023). Income inequality in authoritarian regimes: the role of political institutions and state capacity. Rivista Italiana Di Scienza Politica, 53(2): 161–178. DOI: 10.1017/ipo.2022.17.
Piketty, T. (2020). Capital and Ideology, Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674245075.
Przeworski, A., Alvarez, M.E., Cheibub, J.A., & Limongi, F. (2000). Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1950-1990. Cambridge University Press.
Redmond, G., Schnepf, S., V., & Suhrcke, M. (2002). Attitudes to Inequality After Ten Years of Transition. Innocenti Working Paper, 88. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre.
Roex, K., Huijts, T., & Sieben, I. (2019). Attitudes towards income inequality: ‘Winners’ versus ‘losers’ of the perceived meritocracy. Acta Sociologica, 62(I): 47-63, DOI: 10.1177/0001699317748340.
Rueda, D., & Stegmueller, D. (2019). Who Wants What? Redistribution Preferences in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge University Press.
Sachweh, P., & Olafsdottir, S. (2012). The Welfare State and Equality? Stratification Realities and Aspirations in Three Welfare Regimes. European Sociological Review, 28(2): 149–168. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcq055.
Schneider, S.M. (2019). Why Income Inequality Is Dissatisfying—Perceptions of Social Status and the Inequality-Satisfaction Link in Europe, European Sociological Review, 35(3): 409–430, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcz003.
Sealey, A., & Andersen, R. (2015). Income Inequality and Popular Support for Redistributive Policies in Canada, 1993–2008. Canadian Public Policy, 41(1): 51-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2014-007.
Solt, F. (2019). The Standardized World Income Inequality Database, Versions 8-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/LM4OWF.
Tocqueville, A. (2000). Democracy in America. The University of Chicago Press.
Trump K.S. (2017). Income Inequality Influences Perceptions of Legitimate Income Differences. British Journal of Political Science, 48: 1–24. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2324255.
Trump, K.S. (2023). Income inequality is unrelated to perceived inequality and support for redistribution. Social Science Quarterly, 104(2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13269.
Tufféry, S. (2011). Data mining and statistics for decision making. John Wiley & Sons.
United Nations (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report Special edition. Towards a Rescue Plan for People and Planet.
Whelan, C.T., & Maitre, B. (2010). Welfare regime and social class variation in poverty and economic vulnerability in Europe: An analysis of EU-SILC. Journal of European Social Policy, 20(4): 316-332. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928710374378.
WID (2023). World Income Inequality Database. Available at: https://wid.world/.
Vaughan-Whitehead, D. (Ed.) (2020). Europe’s Disappearing Middle Class? Evidence from the World of Work. Edward Elgar Publishing. International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland.
Verme, P., Milanovic, B., Al-Shawarby, S., El Tawila, S., Gadallah, M. & Ali A.El-Majeed, E. (2014). Inside Inequality in the Arab Republic of Egypt. Facts and Perceptions across People, Time, and Space. The World Bank.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Małgorzata Szczepaniak, Magdalena Osińska, Salah Koubaa

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Title, logo and layout of journal Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series are reserved trademarks of Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series.Stats
Number of views and downloads: 140
Number of citations: 0