Preference for redistribution and institutional trust: Comparison before and after COVID-19

Abstract

Using an individual-level panel dataset from Japan covering the period 2016-2024, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic, as an unanticipated public crisis, affected preferences for income redistribution. Furthermore, we investigated how the association between redistribution preferences and trust in government changed before and after COVID-19. The major findings are as follows: (1) individuals in the high-income group are less likely to prefer redistribution after COVID-19 than before it; (2) the degree of decline in redistribution preference is lower when trust in government is higher; and (3) generalised trust and reciprocity did not influence the decline in preference.