Peer-reviewed articles
Márquez Romo, Cristian, Simon Bienstman, and Markus Gangl (2025). Increasingly polarized? Inequality, prosperity, and perceived socioeconomic conflict in advanced economies (1987–2019). European Sociological Review. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcaf052 (Open access)
Márquez Romo, Cristian (2025). Moving in parallel? Economic inequality and public demand for redistribution in unequal societies. International Political Science Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121241309929 (Open access)
Gangl, Markus (2025). A generalized ordered logit model to accommodate multiple rating scales. Sociological Methods & Research 54 (1): 315-350. https://doi.org/10.1177/00491241231186655 (Open access)
Bienstman, Simon, Svenja Hense, and Markus Gangl (2024). Explaining the ‘democratic malaise’ in unequal societies: Inequality, external efficacy, and political trust. European Journal of Political Research 63 (1): 172-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12611 (Open Access)
Bienstman, Simon (2023) Does inequality erode political trust? Frontiers in Political Science 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1197317 (Open Access)
Giustozzi, Carlotta (2023) Unemployment and Social Integration: Analysing the Impact of Financial Strain, Social Roles, and Identity. Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11577-023-00893-4 (Open Access)
Books
Giustozzi, Carlotta (2022). Social Consequences of Labour Market Marginalisation in Germany. Analysing the Impact of Social Identities and Values. Opladen, Berlin, Toronto: Budrich Academic Press.
POLAR Working Papers
POLAR Working Papers represent work in progress. We welcome comments and feedback on any of our papers, and will also occasionally post new versions of any working paper on this page. When citing any of our working papers, please follow the suggested citation format on the cover page and please preferably make sure to cite the most recent version of any particular working paper. Thank you!
POLAR Working Paper #1
A New Old Macroeconomics of Social Cohesion: Rising Prosperity Still Trumps Rising Inequality, at Least for Many
Markus Gangl, Carlotta Giustozzi, Svenja Hense and Simon Bienstman
Current version: 17 December 2021
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POLAR Working Paper #2
Explaining the “Democratic Malaise” in Unequal Societies: Inequality, External Efficacy and Political Trust
Simon Bienstman, Svenja Hense, and Markus Gangl
Current Version: 4 March 2022
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POLAR Working Paper #3
A Generalized Ordered Logit Model to Accommodate Multiple Rating Scales
Markus Gangl
Current Version: 11 March 2022
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POLAR Working Paper #4
The economic foundations of democratic legitimacy: Exploring the relationship of macroeconomic inequality and trust in democratic institutions in Europe
Carlotta Giustozzi, Markus Gangl, and Simon Bienstman
Current Version: 27 October 2023
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POLAR Working Paper #5
Economic inequality and the cross-cutting of social circles: Evidence for a Great Gatsby curve in European marriage and partnership markets
Markus Gangl
Current Version: 16 May 2024
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POLAR Working Paper #6
Does rising economic inequality strengthen the intergenerational transmission of educational advantage? Evidence from 32 Western countries
Claudia Traini and Markus Gangl
Current Version: 12 September 2025
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POLAR Working Paper #7
Climbing the ladder or falling behind: How social mobility shapes perceptions of meritocracy in the wake of rising inequality
Claudia Traini, Sven Ehmes, and Markus Gangl
Current Version: 12 September 2025
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POLAR Working Paper #8
The Paradox of Inequality that isn’t: Rising Economic Inequality Depresses and Polarises Citizens’ Belief in Meritocracy
Sven Ehmes and Markus Gangl
Current Version: 17 October 2025
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POLAR Working Paper #9
Increasingly polarized? Inequality, prosperity, and perceived socioeconomic conflict in advanced economies (1987 – 2019)
Cristian Márquez Romo, Simon Bienstman and Markus Gangl
Current Version: 22 October 2025
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