Year: 2009
Type: report
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Does the historical macroeconomic environment affect preferences for redistribution?We find that individuals who experienced a recession when young believe that success in life depends more on luck than effort, support more government redistribution, and tend to vote for left-wing parties.The effect of recessions on beliefs is long-lasting.We support our findings with evidence from three different datasets.First, we identify the effect of recessions on beliefs exploiting time and regional variation in macroeconomic conditions using data from the 1972-2010 General Social Survey.Our specifications control for nonlinear time-period, life-cycle, and cohort effects, as well as a host of background variables.Second, we rely on data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 to corroborate the age-period-cohort specification and look at heterogeneous effects of experiencing a recession during early adulthood.Third, using data from the World Value Survey, we confirm our findings with a sample of 37 countries whose citizens experienced macroeconomic disasters at different points in history.
DOI: 10.3386/w15321
Authors: Paola Giuliano, Antonio Spilimbergo
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Russell Sage Foundation, Sage Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W1589648808