Preferred Levels of Income Inequality in a Period of Systemic Change: Analysis of Data from the Polish Panel Survey, POLPAN 1988–2003

Rising trends in economic inequality are well-established across many affluent nations. However, researchers have accrued considerably less knowledge regarding the economic attitudes and preferences of individuals living within the context of increasing inequality, especially in developing or transition countries. To gain leverage on this topic, we utilize data from Polish Panel Survey (POLPAN) from 1988–2003 to examine change over time in respondents’ preferred levels of income inequality. Results show that Poles tend to accept higher levels of income inequality over time. This effect increases with time, even after controlling for respondents’ meritocratic beliefs and attitudes toward state intervention. In addition, this rise in preferred income inequality changes in accordance with actual and perceived changes in the earnings distribution. After describing the patters of variation in acceptance of income inequality between different social groups, we discuss the implications of individuals’ evolving benchmarks for preferred levels of inequality.