ABSTRACT

As people’s concerns about wealth inequality have not grown even as warnings are raised about its negative impact on societies and individuals, research has inquired into factors that influence people’s tolerance towards wealth inequalities. Previous research has shown that higher social position and meritocracy beliefs tend to reduce concern for wealth inequality. Two studies seek to replicate these findings in the Philippines, a country which reports high levels of tolerance for inequality but which does not fit models that explain country differences in tolerance for inequality. In Study 1, survey data showed meritocracy beliefs were negatively related to intolerance towards wealth inequality; this relationship was found only among higher subjective social class Filipinos. In Study 2, an experiment found that priming meritocracy reduced intolerance towards wealth inequality in a sample of higher social class Filipino. Results provide country-specific evidence on the inequality-legitimizing effects of meritocracy on higher subjective social class Filipinos’ attitudes towards wealth inequality.

摘要

尽管人们就财富不平等对社会和个人的负面影响提出警告，但人们对财富不平等的担忧并未增加，因此研究调查了影响人们对财富不平等容忍度的因素。先前的研究表明，较高的社会地位和任人唯贤的信念往往会减少对财富不平等的担忧。两项研究试图在菲律宾复制这些发现，该国报告对不平等的容忍度很高，但不符合解释国家对不平等容忍度差异的模型。在研究 1 中，调查数据显示任人唯贤的信念与对财富不平等的不容忍呈负相关；这种关系仅在较高主观社会阶层的菲律宾人中发现。在研究 2 中，一项实验发现，在较高社会阶层的菲律宾人样本中，启动精英管理减少了对财富不平等的不容忍。结果提供了特定国家的证据，证明精英管理对较高主观社会阶层菲律宾人对财富不平等的态度的不平等合法化影响。