New findings from the Inequality Barometer – a study by the Cluster of Excellence “The Politics of Inequality” at the University of Konstanz.

A large majority of people living in Germany have little trust in the German welfare state – with regard to both its long-term financial foundation and the fair distribution of social benefits. Trust is especially low among people with low incomes. These are the results of a recent study by the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz.
Additional findings of the project "Inequality Barometer" state that respondents with lower incomes feel there is inequality in the area of pensions – perhaps due to concerns about experiencing poverty as older adults. The same is true for unfair treatment in the area of social benefits. By contrast, people with higher incomes mainly perceive unequal treatment in the areas of education and upward mobility. Respondents from eastern Germany, however, observe greater inequality in terms of income, pension and representation than their peers from western Germany.
"The pension system is actually based on the principle of equivalence between contributions and payments. Yet, there is a great amount of perceived inequality in this area", says Marius Busemeyer, professor of political science and speaker of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz. "There seems to be widespread uncertainty and dissatisfaction with the performance of the pension system, which is why the new German government should take the opportunity to ensure the system's long-term stability by enacting corresponding reforms."

People with lower incomes have significantly lower levels of trust
The results show: More than 70 percent of respondents have (very) low levels of trust in the performance, fairness and long-term financial foundation of the German welfare state. In this context, those with lower incomes express significantly lower levels of trust than those with higher incomes. Thus, subjective perceptions – even given proven systematic distortions – have a major impact on attitudes towards the welfare state – an impact that goes beyond objective factors.

Lower incomes linked to perceptions of having less political efficacy
The research results show a connection between inequality and political participation. For example, especially people who intended to vote for the AfD party in the 2025 Bundestag election assess economic inequality as being high but their own ability to influence the political process as extremely low. People with lower incomes and lower levels of education systematically feel they have fewer options for impacting policymaking and are less confident in their ability to actively participate in political debate. "Social inequality erodes the democratic foundation of the German welfare state", Busemeyer concludes. With regard to the question of how the political system responds to voters' needs and desires, scepticism is widespread among all respondents: 85 percent believe that politicians are not interested in what "ordinary people" think; 82 percent say that politicians do not make an effort to stay in close contact with the general population.
This press release is based on a report from the Berlin-based think tank Das Progressive Zentrum (DPZ).


Key facts

• Original publication:
  • Busemeyer, M., Jäger, F., Baute, S. (2025). "On the Sidelines? The Relationship Between Perceptions of Inequality and Political Participation.". Policy Paper no. 19. Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality", University of Konstanz.
  • Busemeyer, M. and Jäger, F. (2025). "Declining Trust, Increasing Inequality? The Performance of the German Welfare State in the Mirror of Public Opinion" (in German). Working Paper Series. Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality", University of Konstanz.
  • All of the Policy Papers from the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality".
• Data collection: For the project "Inequality Barometer", researchers survey about 6,000 people every two years with regard to their perceptions of inequality in the areas of income and assets, the welfare state, social inequality, the effects of climate change and political participation.The latest data was collected in an online survey that took place between 11 November and 5 December 2024 among people over the age of 18 living in Germany. The total number of respondents was 6,152.
• About the authors:
  • Professor Marius R. Busemeyer is a professor of political science with a focus on comparative political economy and speaker of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz.
  • Felix Jäger is an academic staff member in the project "Inequality Barometer" in the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz.
  • Sharon Baute is a junior professor of comparative social policy and a principal investigator in the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz.
• The policy paper is published in a collaboration between the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz and the Berlin think tank Das Progressive Zentrum (DPZ).
• The Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz studies the political causes and effects of inequality from an interdisciplinary perspective. The research focuses on some of the most pressing issues of our time: Access to and distribution of (economic) resources, the global rise of populists, climate change and unfairly distributed educational opportunities.