Understanding Public Attitudes Toward Redistribution: Analysis by Ideological Subgroups

Abstract Existing scholarship suggests that Americans generally support progressive redistribution. However, whether ideological differences exist in views on the progressivity of social programs’ policy designs remains ambiguous. Using a conjoint experiment, I investigate how the progressivity of social programs’ distributional outcomes and tax sources impacts Americans’ social policy support. I find differences and similarities in the effects of progressive social policy designs on different ideological subgroups. Compared to conservatives, liberals are more supportive of social programs having progressive distributional results or tax sources and less supportive of social policies featuring regressive distributional consequences or tax sources. However, both liberals and conservatives prefer progressive social programs over those with regressive designs. This study helps explain the public’s preferences for social policies with progressive designs.