Replication Data for: The Politics of Status Preservation: Immigration and the Knowledge Economy Class

Abstract

The young, urban, and highly educated professionals that comprise the knowledge economy class are often portrayed as the champions of progressive politics in Europe. However, the coexistence of socially progressive attitudes and more conservative economic tendencies within this class deserves more scrutiny among political scientists because such tendencies, I argue, may reveal differences of consequence for electoral and policy outcomes. More specifically, I point to two analytical blindspots in research on progressive politics: the separation of socio-cultural and economic issues, which can conceal critical policy preferences within the knowledge economy class, and the prevailing dichotomy of knowledge economy ‘winners’ and ‘losers’, which can underestimate the potential for status concerns in the knowledge economy class. To illustrate why addressing both blindspots matters for advancing research on electoral outcomes and progressive policy agendas, I apply my claims to the issue of immigration. In doing so, I show how the interaction of socio-cultural progress and economic change—manifesting in this case as status gains among ethnoracial minorities—can underpin a politics of status preservation among ‘winners’ that calls for as much attention as the politics of status loss among ‘losers’ has garnered. Using cross-national survey data, I show that members of the knowledge economy class adopt a politics of status preservation in contexts where ethnoracial minorities, while not on par with advantaged white majorities, are better represented in high status positions. I conclude by considering the implications for research on progressive politics in Europe.