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Universalism and Political Representation: Evidence from the Field

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Enke
  • Raymond Fisman
  • Luis Mota Freitas
  • Steven Sun

Abstract

This paper provides field evidence on the link between morals and political behavior. We develop a theory-guided real-stakes measure of each U.S. district's values on the universalism-particularism continuum, which reflects the degree to which charitable giving decreases as a function of social distance. District universalism is strongly predictive of local Democratic vote shares, legislators' roll-call voting, and the moral content of Congressional speeches. These results hold in both across- and within-party analyses. Overall, spatial heterogeneity in universalism is a substantially stronger predictor of geographic variation in political outcomes than traditional economic variables such as income or education.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Enke & Raymond Fisman & Luis Mota Freitas & Steven Sun, 2023. "Universalism and Political Representation: Evidence from the Field," NBER Working Papers 31265, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:31265
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    Cited by:

    1. Cristina Cattaneo & Daniela Grieco & Nicola Lacetera & Mario Macis, 2024. "Out-group Penalties in Refugee Assistance: A Survey Experiment," NBER Working Papers 32139, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior

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