Preference for redistribution and institutional trust: Comparison before and after COVID-19

TL;DR

This study analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced income redistribution preferences and their relationship with institutional trust in Japan, revealing income-based shifts and the moderating role of trust in government.

Contribution

It provides novel insights into how a major public crisis alters redistribution preferences and their association with trust, using panel data from Japan before and after COVID-19.

Findings

High-income individuals reduced redistribution preference post-COVID-19.

Greater trust in government mitigated the decline in redistribution preferences.

Generalized trust and reciprocity did not affect changes in preferences.

Abstract

Using an individual-level panel dataset from Japan covering the period 2016-2024, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic, as an unanticipated public crisis, affected preferences for income redistribution. Furthermore, we investigated how the association between redistribution preferences and trust in government changed before and after COVID-19. The major findings are as follows: (1) individuals in the high-income group are less likely to prefer redistribution after COVID-19 than before it; (2) the degree of decline in redistribution preference is lower when trust in government is higher; and (3) generalised trust and reciprocity did not influence the decline in preference.