An August 2009 review of data from the General Social Survey (GSS) by Paola Giuliano, an assistant professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Antonio Spilimbergo of the International Monetary Fund examined how serious recessions in different parts of the United States affected the people who lived there.

Professor Giuliano analyzed data from 50,000 individuals and found that those who were 18 to 25 years old during a serious economic  recession were more likely than other individuals to believe that luck, as opposed to hard work, is the key to individual success, and that more government intervention is necessary during such periods.

About the General Social Survey

NORC pioneered the GSS and began conducting the survey in 1972. The survey, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, tracks the attitudes and opinions of American adults. Data from the survey is available to researchers and the general public. Visit the General Social Survey website at: www.norc.org/gss.

Related Publications

Giuliano, P. and Spilimbergo, A.  2009.  "Growing Up in a Recession: Beliefs and the Macroeconomy." NBER Working Paper #15321, Washington, DC: National Bureau of Economic Research. (abstract)

Related News Coverage

The New York Times, December 4, 2009