Thus far, we’ve used survey data to examine attitudes toward public debt reduction. In our first published study, we examine how age influences attitudes toward public debt. Since public debt is a problem for the future, many scholars have assumed that the elderly will place debt reduction as a low priority compared to younger citizens. This serves as a basis for many theories but has never been tested empirically. We test this assumption and find no evidence. However, we theorize that both the very young and very old should rank public debt as a low priority and that the middle-aged should be most concerned about debt. Our study suggests that politicians will find it difficult to build support for debt reduction as societies age.
We have also tested the common narrative that cultural differences explain the different fiscal politics of northern “saints” and southern “sinners within the European Union. This popular narrative is common in both academic circles and the press. Like many cultural narratives, it has never been tested. In our test, using over 200,000 survey responses, we find no evidence that northern and southern Europeans have different attitudes toward public debt. This suggests that the divergent outcomes are driven more by structural macroeconomic factors and institutions than cultural differences.
Aspide, Alessia, Kathleen J. Brown, Matthew DiGiuseppe, and Alexander Slaski. "Culture & European attitudes on public debt." New Political Economy (2022): 1-17.
Aspide, Alessia, Kathleen J. Brown, Matthew DiGiuseppe, and Alexander Slaski. "Age and support for public debt reduction." European Journal of Political Research (2021).
