The Moderating Effect of Unequal Income Distribution on Unequal Political Efficacy: Southern Europe in Comparative Perspective

There is extensive evidence that the growth of socioeconomic inequality is increasing political inequality between socioeconomic groups. Within the expanding literature on this topic, political efficacy - a crucial aspect of individuals’ political involvement - has received comparatively little attention. Seeking to extend research on political inequality to political efficacy, this article argues that socioeconomic inequality affects individuals’ levels of internal and external efficacy, and that income inequality moderates this relationship to the detriment of the less privileged. Focusing on Southern Europe within a broader European comparative perspective, the results support these claims, suggesting that economic inequality negatively affects individuals’ feelings of political efficacy, particularly by intensifying the impact of socioeconomic gaps on political efficacy (of income and education on internal efficacy, and of education on external efficacy).