Individualism and racial tolerance

Claudia Kramer

Public Choice, 2023, vol. 197, issue 3, No 4, 347-370

Abstract: Abstract This paper explores how cultural values associated with individualism versus collectivism affect attitudes toward racial tolerance. Individualism refers to social norms and cultural values that support individual rights and self-determination. Therefore, individualism is inherently egalitarian and should transcend racial identities, fostering attitudes of racial tolerance. To empirically examine the correlation between values associated with individualism and attitudes favoring racial tolerance, individual-level data from the Integrated Values Surveys is collected across multiple countries and over a span of time (1981–2021). The results indicate a positive association between individualism and racially tolerant attitudes. Furthermore, this conclusion remains robust after controlling for demographic and socio-economic variables such as income, education, religious affiliation and attendance, social trust, as well as country and time fixed effects. The within-country analysis enables the isolation of the impact of individualism from other potential confounding factors.

Keywords: Culture; Individualism; Racial tolerance; Political economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D02 J15 J2 O5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11127-023-01079-4

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