American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Universalism: Global Evidence
American Economic Review
vol. 115,
no. 1, January 2025
(pp. 43–76)
Abstract
This paper leverages nationally representative surveys across 60 countries and 64,000 respondents to present novel stylized facts about the relationship-specific nature of altruism. Across individuals, universalist preferences systematically vary with demographics such as age and religiosity and are predictive of many left-wing political views, albeit in culturally highly heterogeneous ways. Across countries, universalism is strongly linked to a broader radius of trust. Looking at origins, universalism varies with the economic, political, and religious organization of societies in ways that are consistent with the idea that the scope of altruism is partly shaped by economic incentives and democracy.Citation
Cappelen, Alexander W., Benjamin Enke, and Bertil Tungodden. 2025. "Universalism: Global Evidence." American Economic Review, 115 (1): 43–76. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20230038Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D12 Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
- D64 Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- Z12 Cultural Economics: Religion
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification