A vast literature suggests that income inequality is a crucial precursor for numerous political outcomes. High-level income inequality can have consequences for people's subjective beliefs about their ability to participate in politics effectively, a concept known as political efficacy. In this research, we explore how individuals' perceptions of income inequality are related to their sense of political efficacy. While previous studies on political outcomes of income inequality have focused on objective, country-level inequality indicators, we focus on subjective perception—how individuals' perceptions of distributive fairness are related to political efficacy. Drawing on data from the fourth wave of the Asian Barometer Survey (ABS) (2014 ~ 2016), we show that the perception of unfair income distribution negatively affects political efficacy. We posit a mediator in the association, namely the individual’s preference for government's redistributive role, as a linking mechanism between the perception of income inequality and political efficacy. Using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) Bayesian multilevel model, we also present how country-level variation in income inequality exerts a moderating effect on the association. Our findings suggest that political efficacy is partially linked to how people perceive (un)fair income distribution and subsequent expectations of the government's role in redistribution.

大量文献表明，收入不平等是众多政治结果的重要先兆。高水平的收入不平等会对人们对其有效参与政治能力的主观信念产生影响，这一概念被称为政治效能。在这项研究中，我们探讨了个人对收入不平等的看法与他们的政治效能感之间的关系。虽然之前关于收入不平等的政治结果的研究侧重于客观的、国家层面的不平等指标，但我们关注的是主观感知——个人对分配公平的感知如何与政治效能相关。借鉴第四次亚洲晴雨表调查（ABS）（2014~2016）的数据，我们表明，对收入分配不公平的看法会对政治效能产生负面影响。我们在关联中假设了一个中介，即个人对政府再分配角色的偏好，作为收入不平等感知与政治效能之间的联系机制。使用马尔可夫链蒙特卡罗 (MCMC) 贝叶斯多级模型，我们还展示了收入不平等的国家级变化如何对关联产生调节作用。我们的研究结果表明，政治效能部分与人们如何看待（不）公平的收入分配以及随后对政府在再分配中的作用的预期有关。作为收入不平等的看法与政治效力之间的联系机制。使用马尔可夫链蒙特卡罗 (MCMC) 贝叶斯多级模型，我们还展示了收入不平等的国家级变化如何对关联产生调节作用。我们的研究结果表明，政治效能部分与人们如何看待（不）公平的收入分配以及随后对政府在再分配中的作用的预期有关。作为收入不平等的看法与政治效力之间的联系机制。使用马尔可夫链蒙特卡罗 (MCMC) 贝叶斯多级模型，我们还展示了收入不平等的国家级变化如何对关联产生调节作用。我们的研究结果表明，政治效能部分与人们如何看待（不）公平的收入分配以及随后对政府在再分配中的作用的预期有关。