Europeans are more pessimistic about how equal their societies actually are, while in the US people are wedded to the American dream and believe society is fairer than it really is.
German research sheds new light on the political challenges involved in tax, income distribution and social fairness and raises questions in the equality debate revived by French economist Thomas Piketty.
The study, to be presented at Germany’s Lindau conference this week, “suggests that in the political debate on income distribution, it is often not the facts that count but [perceptions]”, said Professor Michael Hüther, director of the Cologne-based IW economic institute.