Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral resources and preferences for redistribution

Mathieu Couttenier and Marc Sangnier

Journal of Comparative Economics, 2015, vol. 43, issue 2, 243-256

Abstract: This paper provides empirical evidence that mineral resources abundance is associated to preferences for redistribution in the United States. We show that individuals living in states with large mineral resources endowment are more opposed to redistribution than others. We take advantage of both the spatial and the temporal distributions of mineral resources discoveries since 1800 to uncover two mechanisms through which mineral resources can foster ones’ opposition to redistribution: either by transmission of values formed in the past, or by the exposure to mineral discoveries during individuals’ life-time. We show that both mechanisms matter to explain respondents’ preferences.

Keywords: Redistribution; Mineral resources; Persistence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O10 Q32 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral Resources and Preferences for Redistribution (2015)
Working Paper: Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral resources and preferences for redistribution (2015)
Working Paper: Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral Resources and Preferences for Redistribution (2015)
Working Paper: Living in the Garden of Eden: Mineral Resources Foster Individualism (2012)
Working Paper: Living in the garden of Eden: Mineral resources foster individualism (2010)
Working Paper: Living in the garden of Eden: Mineral resources foster individualism (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:43:y:2015:i:2:p:243-256

DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2015.01.008

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