Blindfolded: Acceptance of Economic Inequality is Associated With Trust in Government and Perceived Economic Performance / Con la venda en los ojos: la aceptación de la desigualdad económica se asocia con la confianza gubernamental y la percepción de desempeño económico

Abstract

The degree to which people accept inequality influences their socio-political attitudes. However, we do not yet know the extent to which such acceptance is associated with trust in the incumbent government and, going a step further, how both relate to the perceived economic performance of the country in question. In our research, we analyse this relationship in Costa Rica, an economically unequal country with a moderate level of support for the government. First, we use structural equation modelling to analyse data from a national survey and subsequently from the Latinobarómetro public opinion survey. In the first study (N = 939), we find that acceptance of economic inequality is positively associated with trust in government and the president. In the second study (N = 862), we find that acceptance of inequality is related to a higher level of perceived economic performance, and an indirect effect through greater trust in government. Acceptance of inequality impacts politically on favourable attitudes towards government and economic performance, representing a distorted view of the country’s economic reality.