Cultural Preference for Redistribution in the United States: An Epidemiological Approach

Atlantic Economic Journal, September 12, 2025

Abstract

Previous research shows that culture can influence economic preferences even when individual characteristics and environment are held constant. This study adds to that literature by measuring the influence of culture on preferences for economic redistribution in the United States. In following the epidemiological approach to assessing the role of culture, the study uses the 1972–2022 cumulative file of the General Social Survey and the 2002–2023 European Social Survey to link the preferences of individual Americans with the preferences that may have been passed down to them from their ancestral countries in Europe. Depending on the choice of covariates in each model, a one-unit increase (on a 1 to 5 scale) in a European country’s average preference for redistribution is associated with a significant 0.20 (p = 0.011) to 0.30 (p = 0.002) increase in the redistribution preference of the average American who has ancestry from that country. Similar effect sizes were obtained even when limiting the sample to respondents who are fourth-generation and higher Americans. Ancestral preference for redistribution also appears to influence political behavior, as it predicts political liberalism and Democratic party identification across all models. The findings suggest a meaningful, robust, and persistent role for culture in determining attitudes toward redistribution in the United States.