Giacomo Melli

Always wanted to have gini coefficients and other inequality statistics of different sources in one dataset? Here you are. The Integrated Inequality Data, from WIID, Worldbank, LIS, and SWIID. osf.io/5cguq/overview

1/ Does growing up poor always lead to political apathy?

Very happy to share my first paper published (open access) in @electoralstudies.bsky.social, where I show that parents' influence mitigates the poverty gap in participation, while economic mobility does not.

🔗 shorturl.at/p5Bac

Front cover of The Division of Rationalized Labor. The cover includes four pictures: pen and paper, microscope, factory tower, police badge. Modern-looking yellow lines and graphs are superimposed.

My new book, The Division of Rationalized Labor, is now shipping! A brief summary of the argument to follow…

The Rise of Stratification Research in Sociology, Economics, and Political Science How social stratification became increasingly studied in sister fields of sociology

The rise of stratification research in sociology, economics, and political science. My new blog. With a conclusion that European universities should rather sponsor inequality centers than to dismantle them. @eui-eu.bsky.social @eui-sps.bsky.social hermwerf.substack.com/p/the-rise-o...

Cultivating trust? The role of European Union investments in bridging rural-urban divides Over the last decades, agricultural policies and structural investment funds for regional development have been central to European integration. Howev…

Billions of 🇪🇺 money flow into regional development.
But do citizens trust the EU more in return?

🔬 Find out in this Electoral Studies article with Paul Maneuvrier-Hervieu and Anne-Marie Jeannet.

❗Spoiler: EU 💶 regional funds do build trust in the 🇪🇺 , especially among working-class citizens.

New Open Access paper published in PNAS Nexus! “Ingroup preferences, segregation, and intergroup contact in neighborhoods and civic organizations” with my co-authors Rob Franken, @dingemanwiertz.bsky.social, and Jochem Tolsma. doi.org/10.1093/pnas... Thread below.

Social Mobility, Self‐Selection, and the Persistence of Class Inequality in Electoral Participation In recent decades, non-voting among the British working class has increased substantially, contributing to widening class-based inequality in electoral participation. This study examines the impact o...

Happy to see this work in The British Journal of Sociology (@bjsociology.bsky.social)! Hope it sparks discussion on how social mobility interacts with democratic participation and what this means for representation and social inclusion.

Using panel data from eight UK General Elections, we examined how occupational class mobility shapes the intergenerational transmission of electoral participation. The patterns we found suggests reinforcement of existing class inequalities in political engagement.

We found that upwardly mobile individuals are more likely to vote—but only after moving into the middle class. 📈Meanwhile, those who experience downwardly mobility (increasingly common today) show lower turnout even before their occupational change, reflecting self-selection.📉

Social Mobility, Self‐Selection, and the Persistence of Class Inequality in Electoral Participation In recent decades, non-voting among the British working class has increased substantially, contributing to widening class-based inequality in electoral participation. This study examines the impact o...

Class-based gaps in voter turnout and political representation in Britain are likely to widen further. Our study, with Nan Dirk de Graaf and Geoff Evans (@nuffieldcollege.bsky.social), reveals how social mobility creates a cycle that reinforces democratic inequalities. 🗳️🪜

Where you think you are in society (not where you actually are) matters for how you think about inequality In countries where income inequality is high, those who feel privileged are often more supportive of redistribution.

In countries where income inequality is high, those who feel privileged are often more supportive of redistribution.

Where I stand and what I stand for: Subjective status, class, and redistribution While research is increasingly focusing on the political influence of subjective social status, it is yet unclear how the latter shapes attitudes towa…

If you’d like to go deeper, the full article - with @leoazzollini.bsky.social (@csisunitn.bsky.social - is published in Open Access in @ssreditorial.bsky.social).

@sociologyoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk

Where you think you are in society (not where you actually are) matters for how you think about inequality In countries where income inequality is high, those who feel privileged are often more supportive of redistribution.

Why do people with similar jobs or classes see inequality so differently? My new piece in @theconversation.com explains why where you think you stand in society is key.

Nice opportunity. Deadline closing soon.
TN-Square 6th Edition, Trento School of Applied Quantitative Research, 22-24 October 2025, Trento
Employment and Mobility over the life course in changing societies

Measuring populism in Europe. Comparison and validation in the European Social Survey - Quality & Quantity Quality & Quantity - Populism has become a defining feature of European democracies, prompting extensive scholarly debate about its impact on political processes. This study refines the...

Available Open Access.
@sociologyoxford.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk @ess-survey.bsky.social @trinityoxford.bsky.social

New paper in Quality & Quantity, just in time for your summer methodological reading! With @giorgiodolci.bsky.social, we validate the measurement of populist attitudes in the @ess-survey.bsky.social. Because nothing says 'break' like Structural Equation Modelling and Measurement Invariance.

Check this out!

Image of Giacomo Melli with quote: "Globally, these results reinforce the relevance of subjective social status as a central predictor of socio-political outcomes. By showing that contextual structural inequality moderates these relationships, these results reaffirm the sociological perspective of individuals as agents embedded in different social structures."

🧠 A paper by DPhil student Giacomo Melli highlights the power of subjective social status in shaping attitudes to wealth redistribution.

But context matters: in more unequal societies, support for redistribution is less divided by perceived status.

🔗➡️ www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/article/stud...

1-year opportunity for a Departmental Lecturer in Sociology at @sociologyoxford.bsky.social for the academic year 25/26. This position has a focus on life course research and quant methods. Apply by 27/6. tinyurl.com/2tydswwj

Should the government 🏛️ fight economic inequality?
You probably have a strong take. But why do you believe that? 📌 Spoilers from our new Social Science Research paper with Giacomo Melli: it depends jointly on where you think you stand in society🪜 and how unequal your surroundings actually are!

Where I stand and what I stand for: Subjective status, class, and redistribution While research is increasingly focusing on the political influence of subjective social status, it is yet unclear how the latter shapes attitudes towa…

Full Open Access here.
@sociologyoxford.bsky.social
@trinityoxford.bsky.social
@ox.ac.uk

This all started as a master's thesis with @stefanischerer.bsky.social (@csisunitn.bsky.social) and Geoff Evans (@nuffieldcollege.bsky.social), and turned into something much bigger.
Big thanks to @leoazzollini.bsky.social, from whom I learned a lot, and to everyone who helped along the way.

What this shows: how we feel about our place in society matters for politics, sometimes as much as where we are.

Context matters too. In countries with high inequality, even people who feel they're near the top start supporting redistribution. Self-perception meets structural conditions.📊

People who feel lower in the social hierarchy tend to support redistribution more, even when their social class says otherwise. Subjective status matters on its own. 📈

Where I stand and what I stand for: Subjective status, class, and redistribution While research is increasingly focusing on the political influence of subjective social status, it is yet unclear how the latter shapes attitudes towa…

What happens when we look at support for redistribution through the lens of how people feel about their place in society? 🔎 My new article in Social Science Research with Leo Azzollini (@leoazzollini.bsky.social) explores this in 25 countries, 1987-2019. 🚀
@ssreditorial.bsky.social

To Counter Populism and Bolster Security, Europe Must Reinvest In Its Citizens Facing security threats and rising populism, Europe needs state investment in citizens, not austerity that fuelled discontent.

🗳️ Populism is a warning sign.

English local elections show it again: People feel abandoned & look scapegoats.

Drawing on own research & others, I argue 👇🏽

💡 To counter populism: We need to reinvest in citizens, e.g. housing, health & dignity.

Short 🧵

📖 www.socialeurope.eu/to-counter-p...

Meeting the Blank Page On Discomfort and the Quiet Practice of Showing Up

That blinking cursor. The empty page. The weight of what should be written.

Every writer, academic, student knows this feeling.

I unpack the fear of the blank page & share practical tips for moving past it.

🧵

🔗 catherineeunicedevries.substack.com/p/meeting-th...

Today!

NASP: Network for the Advancement of Social and Political studies - POLS PVES Seminar | Melli & Franetovic| 10/04/2025 POLS PVES Seminars Series   The Weight of Social Origins in Shaping Political Opinions and Behaviors Class, Family, and Turnout....

More details about the seminar can be found here.