Culture Regions and Policy Attitudes: Evaluating Welfare Spending Preferences Across Tennessee's Grand Divisions

Morgan A. Lowder

Social Science Quarterly, 2025, vol. 106, issue 4

Abstract: Objective This study explores whether the distinct historical and cultural identities of Tennessee's Grand Divisions have contributed to the development of divergent welfare policy attitudes among residents, or whether these attitudes are more strongly shaped by contemporary urban geography. Methods Using survey data from the Cooperative Election Study (CES), I analyze variation in attitudes toward state welfare spending across Tennessee, focusing on the influence of both historical regional divisions and contemporary urban, suburban, town, and rural geographies. I use ordinal logistic regression to assess how these factors predict views toward welfare spending. Results I find that suburban geography is a more meaningful predictor of welfare spending attitudes than the historically defined Grand Divisions. However, welfare attitudes among suburban residents vary considerably in each region, suggesting that historical and contemporary geographies interact to shape public opinion. Conclusion While contemporary suburban geography plays a more direct role in shaping attitudes toward welfare spending than placement across the Grand Divisions, the variation in suburban attitudes across these regions suggests that the influence of contemporary geography on policy attitudes may be filtered through the lens of historical, regional legacies.

Date: 2025
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