Department of Political Science

Sealey, Anthony

Dissertation:

New Old Politics? Explaining Public Support for Redistributive Public Politicies

Biography

Anthony Sealey is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. As a student of public opinion, his research examines popular support for redistributive public policies. In his dissertation project, Sealey argues that not only policy experts and political elites, but also member of mass publics can distinguish between different types of redistribution. The two forms of egalitarian redistribution that he emphasizes are redistribution away from the rich and redistribution toward the poor. A key contribution of his project is to demonstrate that many of the most important factors that influence citizens’ redistributive policy attitudes – including income, education, age, and one’s values and beliefs – often have quite distinct impacts on public support for these different forms of social policies. As such, the ways in which electoral competitions play out may depend crucially on the redistributive impacts of the public policies that political elites champion.

Publications

“Income Inequality and Popular Support for Redistributive Policies in Canada, 1993–2008” (with Robert Andersen) in Canadian Public Policy 41.1 (2015). [Peer Reviewed]

Research Interests

Anthony’s broader research interests include Canadian and comparative politics, particularly with respect to public opinion, public policy and political economy. In addition, he has taught undergraduate courses in research methods and voting and elections for the department.