Why are minorities poor? Cross-Atlantic explanations for poverty and public support for redistribution

Abstract

The article describes public explanations of economic deprivation among minorities and their correlation with support for redistribution. The point of departure is the well-established American case of majority perceptions of Black people, which we compare with majority perceptionsof Black people in Canada and Muslims in the UK, France, Denmark,Sweden and Italy. The study draws on original survey data collected in each country in 2021-2022 and finds that poverty among Muslims incontinental Europe is more assigned to laziness and lack of will power and less assigned to discrimination than is the case for Black people in the US. In contrast, poverty among Muslims in the UK and Black people in Canada is less assigned to a “deviant” work ethic and equally assigned to discrimination than is case for Black people in the US. Across all countries, the article finds these explanatory modes are correlated with support for redistribution to the minority in question, even controlling forpolitical orientations and a range of other relevant deservingness criteria,and “spill over” to general redistributive preferences. This indicates the general challenge from the presence of economically deprived minoritieson support for distribution. However, our results also indicate that explaining poverty with discrimination of ethnic minorities is a substantial driver of generating support for redistribution.