Which Public Values are Most Important? Linking Political Ideology and Public Service Motivation to Public Values Preferences

Abstract

Understanding public values hierarchies among the public gives insights into public preferences for government decisions and policymaking. While societies often express broad agreement in a set of common values, such as democratic values, how do individuals prioritize different public values? Given increasing political polarization, how do political ideology and public service motivation (PSM), or concern for others grounded in public institutions, correspond to public values preferences? Using a representative sample of the US, we examine how people prioritize equity, efficiency, representation, and effectiveness. While all four core public values are broadly supported, we find notable variation in their relative importance. People self-identifying as more politically liberal value equity and representation over efficiency and effectiveness, while those with higher levels of PSM assign greater importance to equity (as compared to efficiency or effectiveness) than other respondents. Further exploration of public values hierarchies may help explain variation in support for policies, approaches to policy implementation, and citizen evaluations of government services.