Absolutely Inaccurate, Relatively Precise: Misperceiving Wealth Inequality Across Time

People misperceive current levels of economic inequality in their country, but little is known about projections of past and future inequality. This research focused on inequality perception across time. We predicted that people would underestimate present inequality levels, while being optimistic about past inequality, and pessimistic about future inequality. We assessed perception of present levels of inequality, and estimates of past and future inequality. Study 1 (N=354) was run in 2016 and estimates referred to 10 years before/after 2016. Study 2 (N=246) was run in 2021 and estimates referred to 5 years before/after 2021. In Study 1, a strong underestimation of present inequality emerged. Estimated future inequality was higher than estimation of present inequality, which in turn was significantly higher than perceived past inequality. Study 2 replicated these results partially, as past estimates of inequality which did not differ from present estimates. When comparing expectations for 2016 and 2026 across the two studies, no differences emerged - indicating that participants estimated on average similar scores for corresponding time stamps. Political orientation did not affect these results. This research confirms past literature on inequality underestimation, and shows that individuals are consistently pessimistic towards the future. This shared pessimism may lead left- and right-oriented individuals alike towards a generalized skepticism about redistributive efforts, and should therefore be addressed in future research.