Education as identity? A meta-analysis of education-based in-group preferences in candidate choice experiments

Abstract

In a climate where education stratifies electorates, does a university degree universally pay dividends at the polls or is there an education homophily premium, whereby graduates disproportionately select "their own"? Via a meta-analysis and original subgroup heterogeneity test of 20 candidate choice conjoint experiments from 12 affluent democracies, we demonstrate university educated candidates boast a 5 percentage-point preferability bump over their less educated counterparts. We also find evidence of education-based identity biases, observing significant in-group preferability among degree holders. Graduates are more inclined to place a premium on candidates' membership of their educational in-group and penalise those from the out-group vis-à-vis non-graduates. These results clearly highlight the importance of education in the candidate favourability calculus and demonstrate that education's biasing effect in shaping preferences will likely ensure the continued dominance of university educated representatives in affluent democracies, particularly as university enrolment rates continue to rise.