Do Smarter People Have More Conservative Economic Attitudes? Assessing the Relationship Between Cognitive Ability and Economic Ideology

Evidence on the association of cognitive ability with economic attitudes is mixed. We conducted a meta-analysis (k = 20, N = 46,426) to examine the relationship between objective measures of cognitive ability and economic ideology and analyzed survey data (N = 3,375) to test theoretical explanations for the association. The meta-analysis provided evidence for a small positive association with a weighted mean effect size of r = .07 (95% CI = [0.02, 0.12]), suggesting that higher cognitive ability is associated with conservative views on economic issues, but effect sizes were extremely heterogeneous. Tests using representative survey data provided support for both a positive association of cognitive ability with economic conservatism that is mediated through income as well as for a negative association that is mediated through a higher need for certainty. Hence, multiple causal mechanisms with countervailing effects might explain the low overall association of cognitive ability with economic political attitudes.


Appendix A: Additional Analyses on the Role of Education (Study 1)
In the meta-analysis, we have considered only bivariate associations between intelligence and economic conservatism. One possible objection would be that the relationships are confounded by the level of education. This means that cognitive abilities and economic attitudes are mutually dependent on educational attainment. Depending on the theoretical perspective, however, educational success can also be seen as an intervening mechanism rather than a confounding variable. First, there is evidence from longitudinal studies that intelligence predicts later educational success (Deary, Strand, Smith, & Fernandes, 2007;Schoon, Cheng, Gale, Batty, & Deary, 2010), but the direction of causality is highly debated (see Deary & Johnson, 2010 for a discussion). Second, various studies show that the associations are robust even when educational attainment is controlled for (Caplan & Miller, 2010;Carl, 2014Carl, , 2015Ganzach, 2018, Study 1;Kanazawa, 2010, Study 2;Ludeke & Rasmussen, 2018, Study 2). Nevertheless, education could also be the cause of a spurious correlation between cognitive ability and economic ideology given that it is related not only to acquired human capital but also to political socialization in educational institutions, where ideas and values are transmitted that affect individuals' economic views (e.g., Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2006).
To determine the pure effect of intelligence, we recalculated the correlations using large-scale representative data to which we had access (ANES 2012, ANES 2016, GSS) and used the partial correlation coefficient, adjusted for education, between cognitive skills and economic ideology as a measure of effect size (n = 10,343). Controlling for educational attainment, the overall effect was positive and significant, indicating that more intelligent individuals have more conservative economic attitudes, r = 0.07, z = 2.86, p = 0.004, 95% CI [0.02, 0.11]. The variation in effect sizes was still substantial, τ 2 (effect size variance) = 0.001, τ (effect size standard deviation) = 0.04, Q(2) = 11.09, p = .004, I 2 = 79.7%. As indicated by the 95% PI, predictions range from a strong negative to a strong positive association [-0.44, 0.54].

Cognitive Ability (Wordsum)
The exact wording of the Wordsum test is confidential.

Services and spending tradeoff
Some people think the government should provide fewer services even in areas such as health and education in order to reduce spending. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Other people feel it is important for the government to provide many more services even if it means an increase in spending. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7.
And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Government or private health insurance tradeoff
There is much concern about the rapid rise in medical and hospital costs. Some people feel there should be a government insurance plan which would cover all medical and hospital expenses for everyone. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1. Others feel that all medical expenses should be paid by individuals through private insurance plans like Blue Cross or other company paid plans. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7.
And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven't you thought much about this?

Guaranteed jobs and living standard tradeoff
Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1.
Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on their own. Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at points 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.

Government should reduce differences in income levels
Please say to what extend you agree or disagree with the following statement: 'The government should take measures to reduce differences in income levels'. Do you agree strongly, agree somewhat, neither agree nor disagree, disagree somewhat, or disagree strongly?

Government regulation of banks
In your opinion, when it comes to regulating the activities of banks, should the government be doing more, less, or the same as it is now? More, less, the same IF R SAYS GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING MORE TO REGULATE BANKS: How much more should the government be doing to regulate banks, a great deal, a moderate amount, or a little?

IF R SAYS GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE DOING LESS TO REGULATE BANKS:
How much less should the government be doing to regulate banks, a great deal, a moderate amount, or a little?

Government regulation of business
How much government regulation of business is good for society? A great deal, a lot, a moderate amount, a little, or none at all?

Education
What is the highest level of school you have completed or the highest degree you have received? (recoded to five categories): Less than high school, high school degree, some college/associate degree, BA degree, graduate degree

Annual Household Income
The next question is about [the total income of all the members of your family living here / your total income] in 2015, before taxes. This figure should include income from all sources, including salaries, wages, pensions, Social Security, dividends, interest, and all other income.

Demographics and Controls
Age: in years Gender: What is your gender? Male, female, other Race: I am going to read you a list of five race categories. Please choose one or more races that you consider yourself to be: -white, -black or African-American, -American Indian or Alaska Native, -Asian, or -Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander? PROBE FOR RACE

Appendix C: Additional Analyses (Study 2)
Note that our factor analysis suggests that support for free trade has to be considered separate from other elements of economic conservatism. The bivariate correlation with cognitive ability was considerably stronger than the association of the economic attitude composite, r = .12, t = 6.68, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.08, 0.15]. We repeated the path analysis with support for free trade as the dependent variable (see Table B  R 2 5.4% Note: The entries are standardized path coefficients, standard errors, and 95% confidence intervals. All continuous variables ranged from 0 to 1, N = 3,335. Weighted data. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.