Nationalism and Support for Redistribution

• In Event: Nationalism and Redistribution

Abstract

Conventional political economy models assume that the poor favor redistribution while the rich dislike it. But income does not explain two puzzles in advanced democracies: The poor do not always demand redistribution, and the rich do not always oppose it. Scholars have used nationalism to explain both puzzles. Some, focusing on the former, argue that nationalism tends to reduce support for redistribution, and it affects the poor most since it is common among the poor and not among the rich. Others, addressing the latter, argue that nationalism can increase the rich’s support for redistribution. I join this debate by examining two questions with a focus on advanced democracies: Is nationalism more common among poorer individuals? How does nationalism affect the redistributive preferences of different income groups? Using individual-level data from three cross-national surveys and a panel study from Britain, I find that the poor are not more nationalistic than the rich, and that nationalism can reduce the support for redistribution of both the rich and the poor.

Author

• Jerry Min, Harvard University