aapor conference 2013

Dr. Robert P. Jones, CEODaniel Cox, Director of Research

PublicReligionResearchInstitute

WHO COUNTS AS WHITE WORKING CLASS?A Proposal for a New Approach

Analysis by

Many Approaches to Measuring White Working Class

How to Define White Working Class:- Education: Having less than a 4-year college

education (Frank 2004; Brooks 2005)- Income: Lower third of the income distribution

(Bartels 2008, McCarty Poole and Rosenthal 2008); household income under $30,000 (Texeira and Abramowitz 2008)

- Occupation: Traditionally blue collar occupation categories (i.e. service industry, construction, transportation) (Manza and Brooks 1999)

- Self-Identity: Subjective assessment of social class

A New Approach to Defining the White Working Class in America

Why Not Income?

Problems with Income:1. Missing Data: In many public opinion surveys 10-

15% of respondents refuse to answer income question.

2. Geographically and Temporally Biased: Does not capture variation in living costs between different regions or community types (i.e. Chicago, IL vs. Jackson, MS) and at different life stages.

3. Household Size: Many income measures are based on overall household estimates, do not capture variation in household size.

4. Retirees, Unemployed: Does not account for retirees or the unemployed often on modest fixed incomes, may not reflect their levels of educational attainment or past occupational prestige.

5. Occupational Prestige: Does not take into account differences in occupational prestige and earning potential between occupations (i.e. adjunct professors, professional tradesmen).


Why Not Occupation?

Problems with Occupation:1. Difficult to Collect: It is very time consuming and

expensive to collect occupational data; very few datasets include occupational questions.

2. No Standard Measure: Unlike education and income, which both have fairly standardized categories, there is little agreement about which occupational categories should be included or how they should be grouped.

3. Retirees, Students, Disabled, Homemakers: Similar to income, occupation is dependent on being employed. These groups are not currently employed in an occupation, yet account for a significant, and in the case of students, a growing part of the American adult population.


Why Not Education?

Problems with Education:1. Too inclusive: Close to half of the country identifies

as white working class based on this definition.2. Generationally Biased: Rising levels of education

means that older respondents are far more likely to be categorized as working class, even if in many respects (income, occupation prestige) they do not fit.

3. Some-College Problem: Many education measures include a “some college” education category that includes current 4-year students, college dropouts and people with 2-year associate degrees.


A New Education-Based Definition of White Working Class

Requires a total of three questions, in addition to race and education.- Basic Requirements:- 1) white, non-Hispanic- 2) No 4-year college education- Supplemental Requirements:

Employment Status Additional Requirement

Employed Have a non-salaried position

Unemployed/Retired Had a non-salaried position

Homemaker/Disabled None

Student Identify as working or lower class


I. A PROFILE OF THE WHITE WORKING CLASS

SizeEconomic Circumstances

PoliticsCulture

A New Approach to Defining the White Working Class in America 7

Size of the White Working Class


Household Income by Social Class


Financial Shape by Social Class


THE 2012 ELECTION

Economic Issues Influencing Vote ChoiceThe 2012 Vote


Economic Issues in 2012 Election


Lack of jobs

The budget deficit

Social Security

The gap between rich and poor

Taxes

Welfare

43

19

12

14

6

4

33

33

5

17

10

1

Economic Issue Most Important to Your Vote (2012)White college educated White Working Class

Note: Among those who said economy was most important issue to their voteSource: 2012 American Values Survey, October 2012

2012 Vote by Class


All Americans White Working Class White college educated

50

33

5348

65

46

The 2012 Vote Preference (Among Voters)

Barack Obama Mitt Romney

Source: 2012 Post-election American Values Survey, November 2012

CULTURE AND WORLDVIEW

RaceGender Roles

Consumer Preferences


Traditional Gender Roles



40

49

28

57

47

67

Family life suffers when the woman has a full-time jobAgree Disagree

Source: Race, Class and Religion Survey, 2012

Target vs. Walmart



48

56

30

40

33

60

12 11 11

Prefer to Shop at Walmart or Target?Walmart Target Both/Neither/DK


Government Assistance to Minority Groups



40

50

32

57

46

65

Government has paid too much attention to the problems of blacks and other minorities

Agree Disagree


II. COMPARING NEW DEFINITION TO SIMPLE EDUCATION

DEFINITION

Economic CircumstancesMarital Status

Economic OptimismSocial Issues


New Definition vs. Education Only Definition


Financial Situation


White Working Class Misidentified respondents White college educated0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

33

52

6366

46

35

Current Personal Financial SituationExcellent/Good Fair/Poor

Self-reported Social Class



10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

521 25

38

5155

41

241816

3 1

Self Reported Social ClassUpper/Upper middle class Middle classWorking class Lower class

Household Income



10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

33

16 11

25

1713

16

17

19

14

37 46

Household IncomeLess than $30,000 $30K - $50 $50-$75K More than $75K

Employment Status



10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

2036

21

3

10

74

17

6

7

11 3

8

40 4559

Employment StatusRetired Student HomemakerUnemployed/Disabled Part-time Full-time

Economic Optimism



10

20

30

40

50

60

70

47

5963

47

38

32

Views About the American Dream Still holds true Once held true, but not anymore

Economic Optimism



10

20

30

40

50

60

46

5557

46

3634

8 9 8

America's Best Days are...Ahead of us Behind us Depends/DK

Similarities on Social Issues: Abortion & Gay Marriage



10

20

30

40

50

60

70

50 51

63

43 42

58

Social IssuesAbortion should be legal in all or most cases Favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry

Definition Requirements

Requires three questions in addition to standard education and race/ethnicity questions.1. Employment: Which of the following best describes

your current employment situation – employed full-time, employed part-time, retired, a homemaker, a student, unemployed but looking for work, or unemployed and not looking for work?

2. Job Payment Type: Which of the following best describes how you [IF RETIRED OR UNEMPLOYED, ASK: “got”] get paid at work? Are [“Were”] you paid an hourly rate, paid a salary or paid by the job?

3. Social Class: If you were asked to use one of these five names for your social class, which would you say you belong in? Upper-class, Upper-middle class, Middle class, Working class, or Lower class?


Conclusion


Advantages:1. Cost: PRRI’s definition requires the inclusion of only

three relatively short questions. 2. Validity: PRRI’s definition produces a group that has

unique economic experiences and a distinct cultural worldview

3. Reliability: PRRI’s definition produces extremely consistent results both in terms of group size, demographics and attitudes.

4. Comprehensive: Despite the use only a few questions, the definition is able to include the entire adult population. Does not exclude anyone based on employment status.

5. Parsimonious: The definition includes as few measures as possible while retaining significant leverage over an education only definition.