2024/08/07 by Magdalena Breyer · 1 voice · 10 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Demographic economics #Economics #Hierarchy #Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies #Perception #Political science #Psychology #Social Policy and Reform Studies #Social hierarchy #Social psychology #Social science #Social status #Socioeconomics #Sociology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/1475-6765.12712
published in European Journal of Political Research 64(2), 810-833 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2024/08/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Abstract This paper applies a conjoint experiment to assess the sources of contemporary social status hierarchies in Western Europe. Social status has become a popular concept in political science to explain resentment against economic and cultural transformations. However, we do not know whether cultural sources like race and gender have an independent causal effect on social status perceptions. Furthermore, these characteristics may be more contested between societal subgroups and thus have a weaker stratifying effect than income or occupation. This study employs an innovative conjoint experiment, conducted in Switzerland, to systematically assess the multidimensional sources of status. The design asks respondents to place profiles with randomized criteria and thus captures intersubjective status perceptions. In contrast to evaluating one's own placement on the social status hierarchy, placing others provides more accurate insights about the structural force of social status. The results show that both economic and cultural sources strongly shape social status, with occupation, race/ethnicity and income being most important. Furthermore, different subgroups agree on the hierarchy no matter their own status. This study helps to understand the structural roots of political resentment by showing that both cultural and economic inequalities are recognized.