The Political Economy of Postmaterialism: Material Explanations of Changing Values

Robert Grafstein

Economics and Politics, 2002, vol. 14, issue 2, 163-190

Abstract: This paper uses a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model of the US political economy to explore the impact of public insurance on the way individuals react to partisan changes in economic policy. In response to these aggregate political shocks, individuals rely on public insurance to insulate them from government‐induced volatility in consumption. As a result, the public appears to be relatively less materialistic in its vote choices as well as in “values” surveys, but only because its underlying materialism has less political salience. Thus this insurance model provides an alternative analysis of the rise of “postmaterialist values” and their relation to unemployment.

Date: 2002
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