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INCOME INEQUALITIES AND REDISTRIBUTIVE PREFERENCES IN CROATIA AND EU COUNTRIES: MACRO ANALYSIS Department of Social Work, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia The paper analyses the relationship between income inequalities and redistributive preferences. The objectives have been: determine to which degree income inequalities are associated with redistributive preferences, which are the correlates of redistributive preferences on the macro level and which mechanisms of redistribution have been preferred by citizens in the EU countries. Aggregated data from two special Eurobarometer surveys (2010 and 2018) were used as the data source on redistributive preferences, while macro-statistical indicators were taken from the Eurostat database. Bivariate correlational analyses, linear regression and the cluster analysis were used for data processing. A general finding is that redistributive preferences are high in almost all EU countries. It seems that an increase of income inequalities is not the key factor of high redistributive preferences, but it is the perception of income inequalities and the sensitivity of citizens towards income inequalities. Citizens in the EU countries often incorrectly perceive the level of inequalities in society and their place on the income scale. The respondents from post-socialist countries have a larger "aversion" towards income inequalities and want a stronger role of the government in the redistribution and social life. Inhabitants of the EU countries support all key mechanisms of income redistribution (taxes, education, social protection and minimum wage), but they give the largest support to the tax system and the progressive taxation of the wealthy, while there are a lot of suspicions regarding fully free education. Key words: income inequalities, redistributive preferences, European Union, redistributive mechanisms, social justice.

U radu se analizira veza između dohodovnih nejednakosti i redistributivnih preferencija. Glavni su ciljevi rada: utvrditi u kojoj su mjeri stvarne dohodovne nejednakosti povezane s redistributivnim preferencijama, koji su korelati redistributivnih preferencija na makrorazini te koje mehanizme redistribucije preferiraju građani u zemljama EU-a. Kao izvori podataka o redistributivnim preferencijama korišteni su agregirani podaci iz dvaju specijalnih istraživanja Eurobarometra (2010. i 2018.), dok su makrostatistički pokazatelji uzeti iz Eurostatove baze podataka. U radu su korištene bivarijatne korelacijske analize, linearna regresija i klaster analiza. Opći je nalaz da su visoke redistributivne preferencije prisutne u gotovo svim zemljama EU-a. Izgleda da rast dohodovnih nejednakosti nije ključni čimbenik visoke razine redistributivnih preferencija, već je to percepcija dohodovnih nejednakosti i osjetljivost građana na ekonomske nejednakosti. Građani u zemljama EU-a često pogrešno percipiraju razinu nejednakosti u društvu i svoje mjesto na dohodovnoj ljestvici. Ispitanici iz postsocijalističkih zemalja imaju veću »averziju« prema dohodovnim nejednakostima i žele veću ulogu države u redistribuciji i društvenom životu. Stanovnici EU-a podržavaju sve ključne mehanizme dohodovne redistribucije (porezi, obrazovanje, socijalna zaštita i minimalna plaća), ali najveću potporu daju poreznom sustavu i progresivnom oporezivanju bogatijih, dok je najviše dilema vezano za potpuno besplatno obrazovanje. ; The paper analyses the relationship between income inequalities and redistributive preferences. The objectives have been: determine to which degree income inequalities are associated with redistributive preferences, which are the correlates of redistributive preferences on the macro level and which mechanisms of redistribution have been preferred by citizens in the EU countries. Aggregated data from two special Eurobarometer surveys (2010 and 2018) were used as the data source on redistributive preferences, while macro-statistical indicators were taken from the Eurostat database. Bivariate correlational analyses, linear regression and the cluster analysis were used for data processing. A general finding is that redistributive preferences are high in almost all EU countries. It seems that an increase of income inequalities is not the key factor of high redistributive preferences, but it is the perception of income inequalities and the sensitivity of citizens towards income inequalities. Citizens in the EU countries often incorrectly perceive the level of inequalities in society and their place on the income scale. The respondents from post-socialist countries have a larger "aversion" towards income inequalities and want a stronger role of the government in the redistribution and social life. Inhabitants of the EU countries support all key mechanisms of income redistribution (taxes, education, social protection and minimum wage), but they give the largest support to the tax system and the progressive taxation of the wealthy, while there are a lot of suspicions regarding fully free education.

The paper examines the role of social protection and social expenditure in the financial and economic crises. Accordingly, the objective of the paper was to analyse the trends in social expenditure developments in EU countries since the beginning of the last economic crisis (2008), examine changes in the composition of social protection spending during and following the crisis, and analyse the effectiveness of social protection schemes during and following the crisis in terms of poverty rate reduction. The paper confirmed that social protection expenditure has increased in almost all EU countries since the beginning of the crisis and that in the crisis most countries rely on redistributive effects of the so-called automatic stabilizers. Social expenditure developments during and following the crisis and the effectiveness of social protection in alleviating consequences of the crisis are related to the features of social protection models (regimes). Countries with larger social sectors are coping with the crisis more successfully. Economic, financial and social crises may induce changes in the social protection system. The crisis is an opportunity for countries with low social expenditure to widen the coverage of social schemes, set up new schemes or increase the level of benefits. As inappropriate crises management models fuel poverty and unemployment, and decrease economic growth, it is important to define the role of social protection/welfare state in a crisis management strategy. Among other things, a solution is to strengthen an approach where social expenditure is seen as social investments which may revitalize the role of social protection in the economic development. ; U radu se propituje uloga socijalne zaštite i socijalnih troškova u financijskim i ekonomskim krizama. Stoga je cilj rada bio istražiti trendove vezane za izdatke socijalne zaštite od početka posljednje ekonomske krize (2008.) u zemljama EU-a, istražiti promjene u strukturi troškova socijalne zaštite u kriznom i postkriznom razdoblju te analizirati učinkovitost programa socijalne zaštite u kriznom i postkriznom razdoblju s aspekta zaštite od siromaštva. Rad potvrđuje da su gotovo sve zemlje EU-a povećale troškove socijalne zaštite od početka krize te da se većina zemalja u krizi oslanja na redistributivne učinke tzv. automatskih stabilizatora. Obrasci kretanja izdataka socijalne zaštite u krizi i postkriznom razdoblju te učinkovitost socijalne zaštite u ublažavanju negativnih učinaka krize povezani su s obilježjima pojedinih modela (režima) socijalne zaštite. Zemlje s većim socijalnim sektorom uspješnije se nose s krizom. Ekonomske, financijske i socijalne krize mogu potaći promjene u socijalnoj zaštiti. Kriza je prigoda da zemlje s nižim troškovima socijalne zaštite prošire obuhvat programa, uvedu nove programe ili povećaju visinu naknada. S obzirom da loše upravljanje krizama samo povećava siromaštvo, nezaposlenost i smanjuje ekonomski rast, važno je definirati ulogu socijalne zaštite/države u okviru strategija upravljanja krizom. Među ostalim, rješenje je u pristupu koji u socijalnim izdacima vidi socijalne investicije koje mogu revitalizirati ulogu socijalne politike u ekonomskom razvoju.