Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Wealthy and Stratification Ideologies

西北大学美国的经济不平等在过去的30年里一直在加剧。关于这一主题的社会科学研究正在迅速发展，但关于富有的美国人对经济不平等的认识和看法的研究仍然很少。关于分层的文献沿着这条线考察了普通美国人的知识和信念，但我们需要更多地了解富人对经济不平等的认识和看法，以及他们的信念来自哪里。本研究采用多方法研究这些问题。使用来自芝加哥地区最富有的1%居民的代表性调查数据和对来自全国各地经济上成功的美国人的原始深度访谈，本研究描述并解释了富有美国人的分层意识形态。具体来说，这项研究旨在确定富人对阶层秩序的看法以及他们自己在其中的地位；这些信念从何而来（例如，他们为什么相信他们所相信的）；他们对改善不平等的公共和私人干预的偏好是什么；以及他们的想法对是否以及如何解决更大的不平等趋势意味着什么。更广泛的影响经济不平等被广泛认为是我们这个时代最重要的公共政策问题之一。社会科学界才刚刚开始阐明经济不平等的复杂趋势、原因和后果。这项研究将通过记录和解释富有的美国人对不平等的看法，为这一正在进行的努力做出贡献。富有的美国人是人口中极具影响力的一部分，但令人惊讶的是，他们的研究不足。本研究是社会学与政治学交叉的跨学科研究项目。这项研究的结果将传播给学术界和非学术界的读者。

SES-1409232Anthony S. ChenFiona C. ChinNorthwestern UniversityEconomic inequality in the U.S. has been rising for the past thirty years. Social science research on the topic is developing rapidly, but there remains a paucity of research on what wealthy Americans know and believe about economic inequality. The stratification literature has examined the knowledge and beliefs of ordinary Americans along these lines, but we need to understand more about what the affluent know and think about economic inequality, as well as where their beliefs come from. This study investigates these questions by employing a multi-method approach. Using data from a representative survey of the wealthiest 1% of Chicago-area residents and original in-depth interviews with economically successful Americans from across the country, this study describes and explains the stratification ideologies of wealthy Americans. Specifically, the study aims to determine what the wealthy believe about the stratification order and their own place in it; where those beliefs come from (i.e., why they believe what they believe); what their preferences are for public and private interventions to ameliorate inequality; and what their ideas imply for whether and how the trend toward greater inequality may be addressed. Broader ImpactsEconomic inequality is widely regarded as one of the most important public policy issues of our time. The social science community has only begun to illuminate the complex trends, causes, and consequences of economic inequality. This study will contribute to this ongoing endeavor by documenting and explaining the beliefs about inequality held by wealthy Americans, a highly influential--but surprisingly understudied--segment of the population. This study is an interdisciplinary project at the intersection of Sociology and Political Science. Findings from this study will be disseminated to both academic and non-academic audiences.