This study explores the multifaceted calculus behind engagement in protests using data from 45 countries in the World Values Survey Wave 6 (2010–2014), employing a hierarchical linear model. It expands the current scholarship on protest politics by investigating how individual subjective assessment and evaluation of income inequality, and redistributive preferences influence participation in protests. We found that protest is a powerful outlet used by highly educated citizens with strong grievances about economic inequality, and labor union networks, especially in advanced industrialized countries. The empirical analysis further reveals that the salience of redistributive preferences may effectively filter individual responses and become channeled into action in protests in a broader sample. Moreover, we show that the impact of grievances about inequality on protest becomes significant when government social spending is increased and the level of inequality is high. Conversely, conventional macro-level indicators on their own, such as the Gini coefficient of income disparity and social spending, did not explain variance in protest participation. Findings suggest that more systematic research is necessary to detect the precise mechanisms at play that link grievances about inequality and the exponential expansion of protest politics.

中文翻译：

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关于不平等的不满之谜：对不平等的态度和政府再分配对抗议参与的影响

本研究使用来自世界价值观调查第 6 波（2010-2014 年）中 45 个国家的数据，采用分层线性模型，探讨参与抗议背后的多方面计算。它通过调查个人对收入不平等的主观评估和评价以及再分配偏好如何影响抗议参与，扩展了当前关于抗议政治的学术研究。我们发现，抗议是对经济不平等和工会网络有强烈不满的受过高等教育的公民的有力宣泄方式，尤其是在发达工业化国家。实证分析进一步表明，再分配偏好的显着性可以有效地过滤个人反应，并在更广泛的样本中被引导到抗议活动中。而且，我们表明，当政府社会支出增加且不平等程度很高时，对不平等的不满对抗议的影响变得显着。相反，传统的宏观指标本身，如收入差距和社会支出的基尼系数，并不能解释抗议参与的差异。研究结果表明，需要进行更系统的研究，以发现将不平等的不满与抗议政治的指数扩张联系起来的确切机制。