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It's not very often that I get jazzed by quantitative work in political science, but here's a remarkable study: Moses Shayo, “A Model of Social Identity with an Application to Political Economy: Nation, Class and Redistribution” (SSRN link here)
The findings are majorly counterintuitive : nations with higher levels of nationalism have lower levels of redistribution/income equality. The model accounts also for what's usually thought of as American exceptionalism: the American lower class is substantially more nationalistic, in turn correlated with fewer demands for redistribution. Shayo's summary: "three major patterns observed in modern democracies. First, national identification is more common among the poor than among the rich. Second, national identification reduces support for redistribution. Third, across democracies there is a strong negative relationship between the prevalence of national identification and the level of redistribution. The last two patterns have not been systematically documented before and are reported here for the first time. The application further points to national prominence, threats to the nation and diversity within the lower class as factors that may reduce redistribution. It suggests the possibility that rising inequality may lead to less demand for redistribution." Here's a helpful discussion by Henry Farrell at the excellent polisci blog The Monkey Cage. I'm still puzzling over the implications of the study for improving arguments in favor of economic redistribution in the US.

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