Inequality and Regional Variations in Perceptions of Work Disability: Results from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Using the work disability vignettes from the third wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) in 2006/07, we explore the geographical variation in how participants rate the level of work limitation of people described in hypothetical scenarios and its association with wealth and income inequality. The results show that areas with higher levels of wealth inequality, but not income inequality, have more favourable attitudes to work disability and are more likely to rate the vignettes as work-limited. These differences persist when controlling for other local authority area- level characteristics such as social capital and diversity characteristics as well as a large number of individual-level characteristics. Our robust findings provide support for the hypothesis that individuals have interdependent preferences displaying an aversion to inequality.