Have Preferences Become More Similar Worldwide? (with Rainer Kotschy)

Recent evidence shows substantial heterogeneity in time, risk, and social preferences across and within populations; yet little is known about the dynamics of preference heterogeneity across generations. We apply a novel identification strategy based on dyadic differences in preferences using representative data for more than 450,000 individuals from 118 countries and territories. Our results document that, among later-born cohorts, preferences are more similar across countries. This decline in preference heterogeneity is similar for women and men and relates to country-specific differences in preference endowments, population composition, and socioeconomic conditions during formative years. Overall, the decline in preference heterogeneity across birth cohorts points at global cultural convergence.