Polarized by Education: Political Affiliation, Education, and Beliefs on the Free Market

Abstract Objective This article tests how education and political affiliation shape individuals’ political attitudes toward free‐market economics. Prior research finds that higher education levels are associated with more liberal political attitudes toward cultural issues—the “liberalization thesis.” However, this pattern may not hold for economic issues, especially surrounding free‐market economics. Methods For analysis, this article uses data from the World Values Survey (WVS) to model the association between political affiliation and respondent education with free‐market attitudes. Results In contrast with the liberalization thesis, we find that at higher levels of education, Democrat and Republican respondents are more polarized, respectively, in their attitudes toward free‐market economics compared to their Democrat and Republican peers at lower levels of education. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate the complexity of education's association with political attitudes, contrasting with commonly held beliefs about unified liberalizing effects of education. One plausible explanation is that education reinforces prior held economic attitudes, leading to greater consistency between political affiliation and attitudes toward the free market.