Meritocratic beliefs and economic growth: A mediating effect of economic inequality

Abstract

Meritocratic beliefs are defined as people's beliefs in the importance of hard work in societal success relative to other structural factors. As economic inequality grows, the plausibility of fair meritocracy has been called into a question, especially by those left behind by the supposedly meritocratic systems. Using data from the inequality module of International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), we find that a stronger belief in meritocratic values is associated with higher levels of inequality. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate a positive link between meritocratic beliefs and economic growth, with some indications that this relationship is mediated by inequality. From a policy perspective, this suggests that when efforts to engineer more equal outcomes in societies undermine the rewards of meritocracy, it has the potential to impede economic growth.