Focus on income inequality and political participation

How does social participation depend on one's income? This is examined in a new report by the WSI, which focuses on the lower half of the income groups. The report also traces the consequences for democracy and the political system. It shows that the group of people living in poverty has grown significantly since 2010. Given this situation, the political participation of this population group is examined and a differentiated picture emerges: Although slightly more than half of people living in poverty are dissatisfied with democracy, only a minority express further mistrust of politicians. This is supported by studies showing that right-wing populist and right-wing extremist attitudes are not more common among people with low incomes than, for example, among the lower middle class. The report also addresses this group and shows that there is also general uncertainty regarding material participation among the lower middle class. Furthermore, there is widespread concern among them that they will not be able to maintain their general standard of living – just like the majority of people with incomes below the median. Based on these observations, the WSI draws several policy recommendations: For example, the first step should be to strengthen the material participation of people living in poverty. For the other lower income groups, on the other hand, it is essential to strengthen their standard of living and address their subjective uncertainties politically. According to the WSI, this includes financial security, social infrastructure, and public services. The report concludes that this would improve opportunities for participation in the long term.

We were also interested in the following topics:

• Industry in Germany: Almost half of all German industrial companies want to expand abroad instead of investing in their own country. Der Spiegel summarizes the reasons for this and the consequences it has.

• Housing shortage: In addition to various other factors, the shortage of skilled workers in Germany is also exacerbated by the lack of suitable housing. As a result, some companies are resorting to the traditional solution of company housing, as Tagesschau illustrates with several examples.

• Labor market in flux: New developments in the German labor market are highlighted by the IAB's Industry Change Radar. In recent months, momentum has picked up again, as evidenced by an evaluation of LinkedIn data for the radar.

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