Higher egalitarian political institutions correlate with greater household spending per person.
Comparing Households and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) with Egalitarian Political Institutions Index across 150 countries, 2025–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.65
- Holding size constant
- +0.51
- Countries compared
- 150
- Period
- 2025–2025
What might link these
Wealthier, more stable societies may invest in both egalitarian institutions and higher household consumption. A careful reader should note that correlation does not imply causation—reverse causality or omitted factors (e.g., cultural values) could drive this link.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. The relationship could be driven by unmeasured confounders like education levels or historical development paths.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.