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Can Empathy Explain Gender Differences in Economic Policy Views in the United States?

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  • Linda Kamas
  • Anne Preston

Abstract

This paper shows that different levels of empathy of men and women explain the well-documented gender differences in interventionist government economic policy views in the United States. Using the Davis Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) to measure empathy, the study finds that more empathic people support more interventionist policies. While greater empathy leads both men and women to support more government action, there is no gender difference in the effects of empathy on policy views. When policy views are separated by area, gender differences on policies concerning poverty, inequality, and social welfare disappear once empathy is accounted for, though they persist in views on free markets.

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  • Linda Kamas & Anne Preston, 2019. "Can Empathy Explain Gender Differences in Economic Policy Views in the United States?," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 58-89, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:25:y:2019:i:1:p:58-89
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2018.1493215
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    Cited by:

    1. Verónica Amarante & Marisa Bucheli & Tatiana Pérez & Verónica Amarante, 2022. "Gender differences in opinions about market solutions and government interventions: the case of Uruguayan economists," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 22-01, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    2. Vittorio Pelligra & Alejandra Vásquez, 2020. "Empathy and socially responsible consumption: an experiment with the vote-with-the-wallet game," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 383-422, November.
    3. Linda Kamas & Anne Preston, 2020. "Does Empathy Pay? Evidence on Empathy and Salaries of Recent College Graduates," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 169-188, June.

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