The Shift of U.S. Public Attitudes Toward Welfare State: A Cohort Comparison between Pre and Post Economic Crisis Era

Abstract

Since the turbulence of the 2009 Economic Crisis, skepticism about individualism and free-market economics has become widespread in the U.S. This study empirically examined how Americans' attitudes toward the welfare state have changed over the past decade. The study used data from the World Values Survey to make a longitudinal comparison of welfare attitudes before (2006) and after (2017) the Economic Crisis. The results show that the United States, unlike other developed countries, has experienced a significant increase in welfare attitudes after the crisis. The study also found that welfare attitudes were polarized by political affiliation and religiosity.