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Who is Neoliberal? Durkheimian Individualism and Support for Market Mechanisms

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  • Augustin Landier
  • David Thesmar

Abstract

This paper investigates the drivers of support for market mechanisms (competition and optimizing behavior by agents). We elicit such attitudes using concrete and simplified situations where respondents face a tradeoff between an economically efficient situation and a pro-social objective. We find that support for deviation from efficient solutions achieved through market mechanism is strongly correlated with moral values as defined by Haidt (2013): care, fairness, loyalty and authority. While the traditional left-right divide spans some of this variation, an even bigger role is played by what we label “individualism”, the average support for all 4 values, a moral stance orthogonal to the left-right divide. We ground this measure of individualism in the sociology of Emile Durkheim.

Suggested Citation

  • Augustin Landier & David Thesmar, 2022. "Who is Neoliberal? Durkheimian Individualism and Support for Market Mechanisms," NBER Working Papers 29942, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29942
    Note: CF PE POL
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    Cited by:

    1. Hart, Oliver D. & Thesmar, David & Zingales, Luigi, 2022. "Private sanctions," Working Papers 323, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    2. Alexander W. Cappelen & Benjamin Enke & Bertil Tungodden, 2022. "Moral Universalism: Global Evidence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10110, CESifo.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values

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