Early-Life Adversity and Preferences for Redistribution: A Global Perspective

This paper is the first to examine how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) influence the support for income redistribution in adulthood. Using data from the 2022-2024 wave of the Global Flourishing Study on over 160,000 individuals from 22 countries, we construct measures of ACEs based on retrospective information on parental relationships, abuse, health, and household finances while growing up. We document marked cross-country variation in both ACE prevalence and redistributive preferences between high-income and low- and middle-income countries. Specifically, exposure to ACEs is associated with stronger support for redistribution only in high-income countries, suggesting that the relationship between early-life adversity and economic preferences is context-dependent. We explore several mechanisms that could underpin our relationship. We find evidence for a material self-interest channel, whereby childhood adversity lowers adult income and increases demand for government support. Yet, this mechanism explains only a small fraction of the total association, suggesting that alternative pathways drive the relationship. Overall, the results show that earlylife adversity is a previously overlooked and context-dependent determinant of redistributive preferences.