Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-g9frx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-15T14:25:04.993Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Model of Social Identity with an Application to Political Economy: Nation, Class, and Redistribution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

MOSES SHAYO
MOSES SHAYO*
Affiliation:
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
*
Moses Shayo is Lecturer, Department of Economics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel (mshayo@huji.ac.il).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article develops a model for analyzing social identity and applies it to the political economy of income redistribution, focusing on class and national identities. The model attempts to distill major findings in social psychology into a parsimonious statement of what it means to identify with a group and what factors determine the groups with whom people identify. It then proposes an equilibrium concept where both identities and behavior are endogenously determined. Applying this model to redistribution helps explain three empirical patterns in modern democracies. First, national identification is more common among the poor than among the rich. Second, national identification tends to reduce support for redistribution. Third, across democracies there is a strong negative relationship between the prevalence of national identification and the level of redistribution. The model further points to national eminence, national threats, and diversity within the lower class as factors that can reduce redistribution.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 103 , Issue 2 , May 2009 , pp. 147 - 174
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrams, Dominic, Wetherell, Margaret, Cochrane, Sandra, Hogg, Michael, and Turner, John. 1990. “Knowing What to Think by Knowing Who You Are: Self-Categorization and the Nature of Norm Formation, Conformity and Group Polarization.” British Journal of Social Psychology 29:97–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akerlof, George A., and Kranton, Rachel E.. 2000. “Economics and Identity.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 115:715–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, Alberto, Baqir, Reza, and Easterly, William. 1999. “Public Goods and Ethnic Divisions.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 114:1243–1284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alesina, Alberto, and Glaeser, Edward L.. 2004. “Fighting Poverty in the US and Europe: A World of Difference. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry. 2000. “Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952–1996.” American Journal of Political Science 44:35–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartels, Larry. 2002. “Beyond the Running Tally: Partisan Bias in Political Perceptions.” Political Behavior 24:117–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bawn, Kathleen. 1999. “Constructing ‘Us’: Ideology, Coalition Politics, and False Consciousness.” American Journal of Political Science 43:303–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Paul, Dalton, Russell, Greene, Steven, and Huckfeldt, Robert. 2002. “The Social Calculus of Voting: Interpersonal, Media, and Organizational Influences on Presidential Choices.” American Political Science Review 96:57–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benabou, Roland. 1996. “Inequality and Growth.” In NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1996, eds. Bernanke, B. and Rotemberg, J.. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Benabou, Roland. 2000. “Unequal Societies: Income Distribution and the Social Contract.” American Economic Review 90:96–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benabou, Roland, and Ok, Efe. 2001. “Social Mobility and the Demand for Redistribution: The POUM Hypothesis.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 116:447—87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benabou, Roland, and Tirole, Jean. 2006. “Belief in a Just World and Redistributive Politics.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 121:699–746.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernhard, Helen, Fischbacher, Urs, and Fehr, Ernst. 2006. “Parochial Altruism in Humans.” Nature 442:912–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bettencourt, Ann, Charlton, Kelly, Dorr, Nancy, and Hume, Deborah. 2001. “Status Differences and In-Group Bias: A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Effects of Status Stability, Status Legitimacy, and Group Permeability.” Psychological Bulletin 127:520–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boen, Filip, Vanbeselaere, Norbert, and Feys, Jos. 2002. “Behavioral Consequences of Fluctuating Group Success: An Internet Study of Soccer-Team Fans. Journal of Social Psychology 142:769–81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bolton, Gary, and Ockenfels, Axel. 2000. “ERC: A Theory of Equity, Reciprocity, and Competition.” American Economic Review 90:166–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, Patrick, and Roland, Gerard. 1997. “The Breakup of Nations: A Political Economy Analysis.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 112:1057–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornstein, Gary. 2003. “Intergroup Conflict: Individual, Group, and Collective Interests.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 7:129–45.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bornstein, Gary, and Meyrav, Ben Yossef. 1994. “Cooperation in Intergroup and Single-Group Social Dilemmas.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 30:52–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourhis, Richard, and Gagnon, Andre. 2001. “Social Orientations in the Minimal Group Paradigm.” In Intergroup Processes: Blackwell Handbook in Social Psychology (Vol. 4), eds. Brown, R. and Gaertner, S.. Oxford: Blackwell, 89–111.Google Scholar
Brewer, Marilynn. 1979. “In-Group Bias in the Minimal Group Situation: A Cognitive-Motivational Analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 86: 307–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, Marilynn, and Kramer, Roderick. 1986. “Choice Behavior in Social Dilemmas: Effects of Social Identity, Group Size, and Decision Framing.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 3:543—9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Angus, Converse, Philip, Miller, Warren, and Stokes, Donald. 1960. The American Voter. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Charness, Gary, Rigotti, Luca and Rustichini, Aldo. 2007. “Individual Behavior and Group Membership.” American Economic Review 97:1340–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Yan, and Li, Xin. 2008. “Group Identity and Social Preferences.” American Economic Review, Forthcoming.Google Scholar
Cherry, T. L., Kroll, S., and Shogren, J. F. 2005. “The Impact of endowment Heterogeneity and Oirgin on Public Good Contributions: Evidence from the Lab.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 57:357–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cialdini, Robert, Borden, Richard, Thorne, Avril, Walker, Marcus, Freeman, Stephen, and Sloan, Lloyd Reynolds. 1976. “Basking in Reflected Glory: Three (Football) Field Studies.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34:366–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cialdini, Robert, and Goldstein, Noah. 2004. “Social Influence: Compliance and Conformity.” Annual Review of Psychology 55:591–621.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conover, Pamela. 1984. “The Influence of Group Identifications on Political Perception and Evaluation.” Journal of Politics 46:760–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, Dora, and Kahn, Matthew. 2003. “Cowards and Heroes: Group Loyalty in the American Civil War.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118:519–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Cremer, David, and van Vugt, Mark. 1999. “Social Identification Effects in Social Dilemmas: A Transformation of Motives.” European Journal of Social Psychology 29:871–93.3.0.CO;2-I>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickson, Eric, and Scheve, Kenneth. 2006. “Social Identity, Political Speech, and Electoral Competition.” Journal of Theoretical Politics 18:5–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, Catherine C., and Grossman, Philip J.. 2005. “Managing Diversity by Creating Team Identity.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 58:371–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellemers, Naomi, Doosje, Bert, Van Knippenberg, Ad, and Wilke, Henk. 1992. “Status Protection in High Status Minority Groups.” European Journal of Social Psychology 22:123–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellemers, Naomi, Van Knippenberg, Ad, de-Vries, Nanne, and Wilke, Henk. 1988. “Social Identification and Permeability of Group Boundaries.” European Journal of Social Psychology 18:497–513.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellemers, Naomi, Kortekaas, Paulien, and Ouwerkerk, Jaap. 1999. “Self-Categorisation, Commitment to the Group and Group Self-Esteem as Related But Distinct Aspects of Social Identity.” European Journal of Social Psychology 29:371–89.3.0.CO;2-U>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, Geoffrey. 2000. “The Continued Significance of Class Voting.” Annual Review of Political Science 3:401–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fan, Jianqing. 1992. “Design-Adaptive Nonparametric Regression.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 87:998–1004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fearon, James. 2003. “Ethnic Structure and Cultural Diversity by Country.” Journal of Economic Growth 8:195–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, Ernst, and Schmidt, Klaus. 1999. “A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 114:817–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferro, Marc. 1973. The Great War: 1914–1918. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Fowler, James, and Kam, Cindy. 2007. “Beyond the Self: Social Identity, Altruism, and Political Participation.” Journal of Politics 69:813–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, Thomas. 2004. What's the Matter with Kansas?: How Conservatives Won the Heart of America. New York: Metropolitan Books.Google Scholar
Gärdenfors, P. (2000). Conceptual Spaces: The Geometry of Thought. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaeser, Edward, and Ward, Bryce. 2006. “Myths and Realities of American Political Geography.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 20:119–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goette, Lorenz, Huffman, David, and Meier, Stephen. 2006. “The Impact of Group Membership on Cooperation and Norm Enforcement: Evidence using Random Assignment to Real Social Groups.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golder, Matt. 2005. “Democratic Electoral Systems Around the World, 1946–2000.” Electoral Studies 24:103–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goren, P. 2005. “Party Identification and Core Political Values.” American Journal of Political Science 49:881–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guimond, Serge, Dif, Stephane, and Aupy, Annabelle. 2002. Social Identity, Relative Group Status and Intergroup Attitudes: When Favourable Outcomes Change Intergroup Relations . . . for the Worse.” European Journal of Social Psychology 32:739–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogg, Michael A., and Hains, Sarah C., 1996. Intergroup Relations and Group Solidarity: Effects of Group Identification and Social Beliefs on Depersonalized Attraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70:295–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ignazi, Piero. 2003. Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe. Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inglehart, R., et al. 2000. World Values Surveys and European Values Surveys, 1981–1984, 1990–1993 and 1995–1997. ICPSR Version. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.Google Scholar
International Social Survey Program (ISSP): National Identity. 1995. ICPSR release. 1998. Köln, Germany: Zentralarchiv fuer Empirische Sozialforschung [producer]/Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributors].Google Scholar
Kitschelt, Herbert. 1996. The Radical Right in Western Europe. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klor, Esteban, and Shayo, Moses. 2008. “Social Identity and Preferences over Redistribution.” The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Kramer, Roderick, and Brewer, Marilynn. 1984. “Effects of Group Identity on Resource Use in a Simulated Commons Dilemma.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 46:1044–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kramer, Roderick, and Brewer, Marilynn. 1986. “Social Group Identity and the Emergence of Cooperation in Resource Conservation Dilemmas.” In Experimental Social Dilemmas. eds. Wilke, H., Messick, D., and Rutte, C.. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Verlag Peter Lang, p. 177–203.Google Scholar
Layman, Geoffrey, and Carsey, Thomas. 2002. “Party Polarization and Party Structuring of Policy Attitudes: A Comparison of Three NES Panel Studies.” Political Behavior 24:199–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lazarsfeld, Paul F., Berelson, Bernard, and Gaudet, Hazel. 1948. The People's Choice. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Ledyard, John. 1995. “Public Goods: A Survey of Experimental Research.” In The Handbook of Experimental Economics. eds. Roth, A. and Kagel, J.. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 111–194.Google Scholar
Lee, Woojin, and Roemer, John. 2006. “Racism and Redistribution in the United States: A Solution to the Problem of American Exceptionalism.” Journal of Public Economics 90:1027–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy. Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lipset Seymour, Martin, and Marks, Gary. 2000. It Didn't Happen Here: Why Socialism Failed in the United States. New York: W. W. Norton.Google Scholar
Loewenstein, George, and Angner, Erik. 2002. “Predicting and Indulging Changing Preferences.” In Time and Decision: Economic and Psychological Perspectives on Intertemporal Choice, eds. Loewenstein, G., Read, D., and Baumeister, R.. New York: Russell Sage Foundation Press.Google Scholar
Loewenstein, George, O'Donoghue, Ted, and Rabin, Matthew. 2003. “Projection Bias In Predicting Future Utility.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 118:1209–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubbers, Marcel, Gijsberts, Mirove, and Scheepers, Peer. 2002. “Extreme Right-Wing Voting in Western Europe.” European Journal of Political Research 41:345–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luttmer Erzo, F.P. 2001. “Group Loyalty and the Taste for Redistribution.” Journal of Political Economy 109:500–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKie, Diane, Gastardo-Conaco, Cecilia, and Skelly, John J.. 1992. “Knowledge of the Advocated Position and the Processing of In-Group and Out-Group Persuasive Messages.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 18:145–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKie, Diane, Worth, Leila, and Asuncion, Arlene. 1990. Processing of Persuasive In-Group Messages. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58:812–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
MacKie, Diane, and Wright, Crystal. 2001. “Social Influence in an Intergroup Context.” In Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology, Brown, R. and Gaertner, S.L., eds. Intergroup Processes, 281–300.Google Scholar
Mael, Fred, and Ashforth, Blake. 1992. “Alumni and Their Alma Mater: A Partial Test of the Reformulated Model of Organizational Identification.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 13:103–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meltzer, Allan, and Richard, Scott. 1981. “A Rational Theory of the Size of Government.” Journal of Political Economy, 89 (5):914–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milanovic, Branko. 2000. “The Median-Voter Hypothesis, Income Inequality, and Income Redistribution: An Empirical Test with the Required Data.” European Journal of Political Economy 16:367–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Arthur, Wlezien, Christopher, and Hildreth, Anne. 1991. “A Reference Group Theory of Partisan Coalitions.” Journal of Politics 53:1134–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, David. 1995. On Nationality. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Miller, Warren. 1991. “Party Identification, Realignment, and Party Voting: Back To Basics.” American Political Science Review 85:557–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nosofsky Robert, M. 1986. “Attention, similarity and the Identification-Categorization Relationship.” Journal of Experimental Psychology 115:39–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nosofsky Robert, M. 1992. “Similarity Scaling and Cognitive Process Models.” Annual Review of Psychology 43:25–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
OECD 2004, Social Expenditure database (SOCX), 1980–2001.Google Scholar
Orbell, John, Alphons, Van-de-Kragt, and Dawes, Robyn. 1988. “Explaining Discussion-Induced Cooperation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 54:811–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Penn, Elizabeth Maggie. 2008. “Citizenship versus Ethnicity: The Role of Institutions in Shaping Identity Choice.” Journal of Politics 70:956–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Persson, Torsten, and Tabellini, Guido. 2003. The Economic Effects of Constitutions. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piketty, Thomas. 1995. “Social Mobility and Redistributive Politics.” Quarterly Journal of Economics 110:551–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Polzer, Jeffrey, Stewart, Katherine, and Simmons, Jessica. 1999. “A Social Categorization Explanation for Framing Effects in Nested Social Dilemmas.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 79:154–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roccas, Sonia. 2003. “The Effects of Status on Identification with Multiple Groups.” European Journal of Social Psychology 33:351–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roemer, John. 1998. “Why the Poor Do Not Expropriate the Rich: an Old Argument in New Garb.” Journal of Public Economics 70:399–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roemer, John, and Van der Straeten, Karine. 2005. “Xenophobia and Distribution in France: A Politico-Economic Analysis.” Journal of Economics 86:95–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roemer, John, and Van der Straeten, Karine. 2006. “The Political Economy of Xenophobia and Distribution: The Case of Denmark.” Scandinavian Journal of Economics 108:251–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romer, Thomas. 1975. “Individual Welfare, Majority Voting, and the Properties of a Linear Income Tax.” Journal of Public Economics 4:163–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schain, Martin, Zolberg, Aristide, and Hossay, Patrick, eds. 2002. Shadows over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe. New York: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheve, Kenneth, and Stasavage, David. 2008. “The Conscription of Wealth: Mass Warfare and the Demand for Progressive Taxation.” Yale University. Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shayo, Moses. 2007. “A Theory of Social Identity with an Application to Redistribution.” The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soroka, Stuart, Banting, Keith, and Johnston, Richard. 2006. “Immigration and Redistribution in a Global Era.” In Globalization and Egalitarian Redistribution, eds. Bardhan, Pranab, Bowles, Samuel, and Wallerstein, Michael. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 261–88.Google Scholar
Spears, Russell, Postmes, Tom, Lea, Martin, and Watt, Susan. 2001. “A SIDE View of Social Influence.” In Social Influence: Direct and Indirect Processes, eds. Williams, Kipling D. and Forgas, Joseph P.. Philadelphia/Hove, UK: Psychology Press, 331–50.Google Scholar
Tajfel, Henri. 1970. “Experiments in Intergroup Discrimination.” Scientific American 223:96–102. Reprinted in Hogg, MA, and D. Abrams, eds., Intergroup Relations. Ann Arbor: Psychology Press, 2001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, Billig, MG, Bundy, RP, and Claude, Flament. 1971. “Social Categorization and Intergroup Behavior.” European Journal of Social Psychology 1:149–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, Henri, and Turner, John. 1986. “The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior.” In Psychology of Intergroup Relations, eds. Worchel, S. and Austin, W.. Chicago: Nelson Hall, 7–24.Google Scholar
Tamir, Yael. 1993. Liberal Nationalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Turner, John, Hogg, Michael, Oakes, Penelope, Reicher, Stephen, and Wetherell, Margaret. 1987. Rediscovering the Social Group a Self Categorization Theory. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Weber, Eugen. 1976. Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France, 1870–1914. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, Yoram, and Fershtman, Chaim. 1998. “Social Status and Economic Performance: A Survey.” European Economic Review 42:801–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wit, Arjaan, and Wilke, Henk. 1992. “The Effect of Social Categorization on Cooperation in Three Types of Social Dilemmas.” Journal of Economic Psychology 13:135–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zelmer, Jennifer. 2003. “Linear Public Goods Experiments: A Meta-Analysis.” Experimental Economics 6:299–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.