Zero-Sum Thinking and the Roots of US Political Differences

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chinoy, Sahil; Nunn, Nathan; Sequeira, Sandra; Stantcheva, Stefanie
• 署名单位: Harvard University; University of British Columbia; Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR); University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282; 1944-7981
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20240692
• 发表日期: 2026-03
• 页码: 1052-1096
• 关键词: UNITED-STATES; EVOLUTION; culture; institutions; origins; COOPERATION; preferences; immigrants; mobility; VIOLENCE

摘要

We investigate the origins and implications of zero-sum thinking: the belief that gains for one individual or group tend to come at the cost of others. Using a new survey of 20,400 US residents, we measure zero-sum thinking, political preferences, policy views, and a rich array of ancestral information spanning four generations. We find that a more zero-sum mindset is strongly associated with more support for government redistribution, race-and gender-based affirmative action, and more restrictive immigration policies. Zero-sum thinking can be traced back to the experiences of both the individual and their ancestors, encompassing factors such as the degree of intergenerational upward mobility they experienced, whether they immigrated to the United States or lived in a location with more immigrants, and whether they were enslaved or lived in a location with more enslavement.