Economic Inequality Pushes Left Parties Toward Values, Right Parties Away

Parties' issue priorities in elections are shaped by economic inequality. As inequality grows, more people enter lower socioeconomic groups.

This increased group size makes them receptive to leftist parties' redistributive appeals. Therefore, left-leaning parties emphasize economic issues.

Rightist parties face a challenge: their non-redistributive policies won't satisfy this growing segment of voters.

Instead, they shift focus toward values-based topics like social identity and cultural concerns.

This move is especially pronounced when "social demand" for such representation among citizens rises.

Our findings emerge from hierarchical regression models analyzing data across hundreds of democratic parties worldwide. By examining diverse democracies, we isolate the effect of inequality on political competition.