Citizens of the World? Education and National Differences in Opinion

Education affects a wide range of opinions. This paper considers the interaction between educational and national differences: specifically, whether the amount of cross-national variation in opinions differs by level of education. It is sometimes said that national differences are smaller among more educated people, particularly among university graduates. The argument is that higher education around the world is dominated by a common structure and ethos, and that educated people are more likely to travel, have contact with educated people from other nations, and obtain information from the national and international media. As a result, a common culture develops among educated people, while less educated people continue to follow distinct national traditions. The paper looks at a range of political opinions measured in the 2017-2022 wave of the World Values Survey and European Values Survey. For many opinions, the extent of variation among nations does not differ by education. However, when there are differences, cross-national variation in opinion is usually larger among more educated people. That is, education is more likely to reinforce national differences in opinion than to reduce them. An increase in national variation by educational level occurs when there is an association between the effects of education and the opinions of less educated people. For example, education is generally associated with more acceptance of abortion, but this effect is stronger in nations where less educated people have more favorable views of abortion. The paper considers the possible causes and consequences of this pattern.