Measuring perceived economic inequality: a comparison of methods

Abstract

Estimates of objective and perceived economic inequality do not align, whereas it is the perceived level of inequality that better predicts the well-being of individuals. The current article analyzes various methods of measuring perceived economic inequality, providing a detailed description of their strengths and weaknesses as well as examples of the discussed methods. Based on the analysis, five types of tasks that could be proposed to respondents were identified: evaluation, choosing from alternatives, distribution, comparison, and self-categorization. Social researchers have been shown to focus mainly on one aspect of perceived economic inequality, which significantly narrows the social reality under investigation, reduces the reliability of collected data and creates challenges when comparing results of different studies. Additionally, methodological issues limit the possibility to precisely judge the obtained results, as generalizing conclusions result in theoretical bias and do not allow for making comprehensive assessments of inequality in society. To enhance validity and eliminate other potential theoretical explanations for the data obtained, we recommend employing multidimensional measurements, which include different aspects of inequality and various methods of assessing perceived inequality.