The current recession may be forming a generation that wants more state intervention, redistribution, and will accept higher taxes

The Great Recession has meant huge upheavals for millions around the world with massive increases in unemployment and inequality in general. But what have been its effects on people’s psychology and attitudes? By comparing people’s attitudes over the past four decades with macroeconomic shocks, Paola Giuliano and Antonio Spilimbergo find that recessions, especially when experienced between the ages of 18 and 25, mean that people have a stronger preference for government redistribution and are more likely to believe that success in life was a matter of luck more than hard work. They write that the current recession may be shaping attitudes towards a further political realignment that leans towards the Democrats in the U.S. in years to come.