Lower support for redistribution and progressive taxes among young adults in Belgium
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Progressive taxes are an important policy tool to achieve redistribution within a society. While previous research has shown that there is broad popular support for progressive taxes, survey data from Belgium suggest that this support is significantly lower among younger age groups. Young respondents are significantly less willing to use tax policy as an instrument to reduce inequality, even when taking into account their concern about inequality. This age effect is significant, even controlling for political sophistication, income, beliefs in the welfare state, and ideology. Young adults therefore seem less willing to allocate a large proportion of societal resources to the political system in order to achieve redistribution, and in the concluding section we offer some suggestions on what might explain this phenomenon.
Source: European Politics and Society
Authors: Dieter Stiers, Marc Hooghe, Ward Pauli
Institution: KU Leuven
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4407266291