Abstract
Social perceptions about status, inequality and redistribution have long been of interest to economists and sociologists who aimed at further understanding how people perceive the structure of inequality, where they see themselves in this structure and their overall desire for more fairness and equality. These social perceptions have also been shown to have significant input to social conflict, voting behaviour and redistribution models, confirming the relative importance of understanding the dynamics behind them. However, studies assessing these social perceptions remain heavily reliant on the available data in developed countries, mainly in the developed north. Due to data limitations, African countries have been largely ignored, and little information exists on the dynamics behind status perceptions and redistribution preferences in an African context. While Africa remains the poorest continent in the world with high levels of inequality, the lack of African representation has left a vast research chasm within the subjective dimensions of African perceptions about status, inequality and redistribution. Also, it could be strongly hypothesised that the dynamics behind these social perceptions in an African context are heterogeneous from developed countries. Yet the dynamics behind subjective social status, inequality perceptions and demand for redistribution remain unexplored in Africa.
Therefore, the research aim for this thesis is derived from the research gap mentioned above, attempting to provide a detailed assessment of status perceptions and redistribution perceptions in South Africa, the most unequal country in Africa and the world (Sulla et al., 2022). This thesis aimed to achieve three objectives linked to the overall theme of status perceptions and redistribution preferences to address this research question. The first objective was to assess the variation between objective and subjective class positions in a South African context, elaborating on the misalignment between stratification perceptions and objective class realities. The second objective was a detailed assessment of the changing dynamics behind subjective social status in South Africa, controlling for different population and income groups. Objective three explored the changing impact various objective and subjective factors could have on demand for redistribution in a South African context, focusing specifically on the impact of status and inequality perceptions.
The study accomplished the first objective by clearly defining and assessing the variation between objective and subjective class measures in South Africa. Using the ISSP Social Inequality dataset, the study showed significant variation between objective and subjective social positions in South
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Africa. Assessing this variation over time shows an increasing tendency for individuals to perceive themselves in the middle of South African society. This is in contrast to the inequality dynamics in South Africa, which has seen an increase in inequality mainly led by increased income polarisation in the country. The results show that the variation between subjective and objective class positions in South Africa varies by population group. Females tend to deflate their social status more than males, and previously disadvantaged population groups tend to inflate their social position more than Whites.
The results also show that the increasing tendency to identify as being in the middle is mainly due to increased inflated social perceptions. This means those from lower-class positions have increasingly placed themselves in the middle class in South Africa. Those who inflate their social positions also have low education levels and are from previously disadvantaged population groups. It points to the strong link between those more vulnerable in society and the tendency to have inflated social status perceptions.
The increasing status inconsistency points to a clear divergence between status perceptions and objective economic positions and casts doubt on the role objective factors such as income, occupation and education play in determining the subjective social position of individuals in the country. The second objective aimed to fully assess the changing objective and subjective determinants behind social status in South Africa, controlling for different income and population groups. Using the ISSP Social Inequality dataset, the results show that although objective factors such as income, occupation and education initially had a positive and significant impact on subjective social status, these objective factors have declined in their predictive power for subjective social status for South Africans. Likewise, the impact of race has diminished over time. The status perception gap between Africans, Coloureds and Indian/Asians has decreased; however, the lingering legacy of apartheid can still be observed since Whites continue to place themselves on significantly higher social steps compared to other race groups.
The chapter further shows that the determinants of subjective social positions are heterogeneous for different populations and income groups. Although education and occupation levels are significant in determining the subjective social status of Africans, these objective factors are less significant for Whites. Possibly explained by the increasing economic returns received from occupation and education levels since the end of apartheid. While occupation, education and
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inequality perceptions influence the subjective social status of the middle-income group. However, it should be noted that the subjective social status of the middle-income group has been declining and points to the lower economic returns those in the middle of the income distribution receive for occupation and education factors. This is supported by the trends of increasing income polarisation and the struggles of the middle class in South Africa.
The third and final objective of the research aimed to assess the changing determinants behind the demand for redistribution, specifically focusing on inequality and status perceptions. Ordered probit and multinomial regression models were used, and the results show that subjective social status has a negative and significant impact on the level of redistribution South Africans demand. A relationship that has grown in strength and shows the higher individuals place themselves, the lower the demand for redistribution. Furthermore, the results show that income positions have declined as a predictive factor for demand for redistribution. The impact of self-interest income position decreases over time and points to a decline of the Meltzer-Richard hypothesis in the South African model. This further supports the multidimensionality behind the demand for redistribution and the importance of status perceptions in explaining the demand for redistribution.
The main finding of the research question, as covered by the three objectives, points to the changing dynamics behind status perceptions and redistribution preferences in South Africa. While there is an increasing tendency for individuals to place themselves in the middle of the social stratum, there has been a divergence between status perceptions and objective economic positions defined by income, occupation and education. This increase in status inconsistency can also be seen with the decline of objective factors in the subjective social status model for South Africans. However, the impact of objective factors is heterogenous for different populations and income groups. Africans and the middle-income group still strongly use objective economic positions to determine status perceptions, compared to Whites and other class groups. Furthermore, the subjective social status individuals hold in a society profoundly influences their demand for more or less redistribution, pointing to the importance of status perceptions in driving redistribution preferences in South Africa.
In South Africa, increasing inequality and social unrest motivated the study to assess the dynamics behind status perceptions and redistribution preferences in the South African context. The study is the first attempt to assess the changing dynamics behind these social perceptions in South Africa.
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The study contributes to the body of knowledge in this field with a detailed analysis of status perceptions and redistribution preferences in a South African context, a country with the highest inequality levels globally. Since these social perceptions have been shown as important inputs in voting behaviour, public finance and social unrest models, the findings in this chapter provide helpful information about individual perceptions of status, inequality and redistribution. These findings could assist the government in understanding the way South Africans perceive their own position in society and assist with the subjective component of policy design aimed at reducing inequality and social unrest and creating a more socially cohesive and just society. The study further provides vital insight for policymakers on the changing dynamics behind social perceptions South Africans hold. These perceptions could shape future voting behaviour, social policy formulation and the future political landscape.