Growing up in a super unequal society actually makes you more likely to want to send money to help other countries.
Common sense suggests people in unequal societies would want to fix their own problems first. Instead, experiencing extreme inequality early in life creates a lifelong moral belief in the obligation to help the poor, even those in other countries.
Assistance to Me, and to Thee: Early Inequality Experiences and Public Preferences for Overseas Aid
SSRN · 6339578
Public support for foreign aid in donor countries shows significant generational differences that contemporaneous factors cannot fully explain. This paper proposes a political socialization theory of aid preferences, arguing that exposure to high income inequality during early adulthood shapes lifelong attitudes toward overseas assistance. Using a nationally representative panel dataset covering major donor countries, I find that individuals socialized in more unequal environments are significan