Trade-offs in Economic Preferences: Partisans Perceive Ideological Divergence Where There is Strong Convergence

Four studies (N = 6,118; 183,090 observations) isolate partisan preferences for the often-competing economic motives of poverty alleviation, equality, and efficiency. Specifically, we test how Democrats and Republicans differ in their priorities, how they make trade-offs when priorities conflict (Study 1a), and how they think partisan outgroup members manage these same priorities (Study 1b). In addition, we test whether preferences (Study 2a) and predictions about the outgroup (Study 2b) shift with monetary stakes. We show areas of partisan preference overlap and divergence and reveal errors in cross-partisan meta-perceptions. Republicans and Democrats alike prioritize helping the poor over all other motives, yet they differ in how they balance trade-offs involving other priorities. Despite substantial overlap in actual socioeconomic preferences, partisans – particularly Democrats – incorrectly assume yawning differences. For example, Democrats incorrectly predict that Republicans favor policies that help the rich and increase inequality over policies that help the poor and decrease inequality. By creating separate dimensions capturing help and harm to the rich and poor, our typology isolates economic motives, examines tradeoffs, reveals cross-partisan misperceptions, and highlights areas of bipartisan agreement on fundamental economic priorities.