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Beschreibung:
Empirical studies have shown that US politics is heavily tilted in favor of the better off, as political decisions tend to reflect the preferences of the rich while largely ignoring those of the poor and middle classes. These findings have prompted a lively debate about potential mechanisms that cause this pattern of unequal responsiveness. Existing studies suggest that specific characteristics of the political system are a major explanatory factor - in particular, private donations and campaign financing. We build on these studies but focus for the first time on an entirely different case. In this Discussion Paper, we ask whether similar patterns of unequal responsiveness are discernible in Germany, which not only is a more egalitarian country, but also funds election campaigns entirely differently from the US. We analyze an original dataset of more than 800 survey questions posed between 1980 and 2013. The questions deal with specific political decisions debated at the time and cover a broad range of politically relevant topics. Our results show a notable association between political decisions and the opinions of the rich, but none or even a negative association for the poor. Representational inequality in Germany thus resembles the findings for the US case, despite its different institutional setting. Against this background, we conclude by discussing potential mechanisms of unequal responsiveness. ; Ein Reihe von empirischen Studien zeigt, dass die Politik in den Vereinigten Staaten zugunsten der sozial Bessergestellten verzerrt ist, weil politische Entscheidungen den Präferenzen der Reichen entsprechen, wohingegen die der Mittelschicht und der Armen weitgehend ignoriert werden. Diese Forschungsergebnisse haben zu einer angeregten Debatte über mögliche Ursachen für diese Schieflage geführt. Dabei verweisen bisherige Studien immer wieder auf Besonderheiten des politischen Systems der USA - vor allem auf die Finanzierung von Wahlkämpfen durch private Spenden. In diesem Aufsatz greifen wir die amerikanische ...