LAUSR

Public opinion in some countries are persistently highly supportive of redistribution, while policy outcomes do not always adjust over time. According to the literature on political congruence this might the consequence of a biased representation of policy preferences in the political process, as the preferences of high socio-economic status are expected to be better represented than the preferences of low statuses. To shed some light on this puzzle we analyze congruence in preferences for social policies in Spain. We use data from two complementary surveys gathering data on preferences for citizens and members of parliament (MPs). We have found a high degree of congruence in political preferences between citizens and representatives. Secondly, although the preferences of the well-educated groups are better represented in the case of preferences for taxation, it cannot be argued that there is a pro-rich bias in MPs’ preferences. We have found also a framing effect, according to which, congruence between parties and electorates vary across domains of preferences.