A systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behaviour

Abstract

How does economic inequality relate to prosocial behaviour? Existing theories and empirical studies from multiple disciplines have produced mixed results. Here we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to systematically synthesize empirical studies. Results from 192 effect sizes and over 2.5 million observations in 100 studies show that the relationship varies from being negative to positive depending upon the study (95% prediction interval −0.450 to 0.343). However, on average, there is a small, negative relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behaviour (r = −0.064, P = 0.004, 95% confidence interval −0.106 to −0.021). There is generally no evidence that results depend upon characteristics of the studies, participants, the way prosocial behaviour and inequality were assessed, and the publication discipline. Given the prevalence of economic inequality and the importance of prosocial behaviour, this systematic review and meta-analysis provides a timely study on the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behaviour. This meta-analysis of the relationship between economic inequality and prosocial behaviour finds that the relationship varies from being negative to positive, but, on average, higher economic inequality is associated with lower prosocial behaviour.