474 International Organization This type of argument resonates with a growing body of research in inter- national relations that focuses on the importance of cultural values and concep- tions of identity and how they shape the interests pursued by policymakers in international affairs-in areas including military strategy,humanitarian interven- tion,and support for human rights.22 It is more difficult to find cultural accounts of trade politics or policymaking,specifically,in the political economy literature, though references to the popular appeal of protectionism when linked with nation- alism and xenophobia are common.23 How then should we interpret the observed connection between education and support for trade?Besides the standard account,which focuses on Stolper- Samuelson-style distributional concerns,alternative accounts that stress the impor- tance of economic ideas and related values also seem highly plausible.We suggest a simple test to establish whether the education connection is primarily reflecting concerns about the effects of trade on respondents'personal incomes or whether it is a manifestation of broader differences in ideas and/or values among sur- veyed individuals.We examine the impact of education levels on attitudes toward trade among respondents currently in the active labor force and among those who are not.If the Stolper-Samuelson interpretation of the education effect is accu- rate,this effect should be contingent on whether or not individuals are actually being paid for the employment of their skills in the labor market.24 The Effects of Education on Trade Preferences Our new empirical tests draw from two key sources of data on individual trade preferences:the NES and the International Social Survey Program (ISSP).These are the same data sets employed by the two most prominent studies of individual attitudes toward trade in recent years:the analyses by Scheve and Slaughter and Mayda and Rodrik.5 In the following section we briefly describe each dataset and present the results for our split-sample tests. Tests Using the NES Data The NES surveys are fielded in the United States around the time of presidential elections and designed to gather data on Americans'social backgrounds,political predispositions,opinions on questions of public policy,and participation in polit- 22.For general discussions,see Wendt 1999;Ruggie 1998;and Finnemore and Sikkink 1998.For studies of strategy,see Katzenstein 1996;on human rights,see Sikkink 1993. 23.For example,Bauer,Pool,and Dexter 1972,103. 24.Similar split-sample tests have been used in studies of anti-immigrant sentiments to help dis- cern whether greater opposition to immigration among less educated survey respondents(compared with more educated counterparts)reflects different degrees of concern about having to compete with immigrants in the job market:see Scheve and Slaughter 2001c;Mayda 2004;and also Hainmueller and Hiscox 2004. 25.Scheve and Slaughter 2001a and 2001b;and Mayda and Rodrik 2005.474 International Organization This type of argument resonates with a growing body of research in inter￾national relations that focuses on the importance of cultural values and concep￾tions of identity and how they shape the interests pursued by policymakers in international affairs-in areas including military strategy, humanitarian interven￾tion, and support for human rights.22 It is more difficult to find cultural accounts of trade politics or policymaking, specifically, in the political economy literature, though references to the popular appeal of protectionism when linked with nation￾alism and xenophobia are common.23 How then should we interpret the observed connection between education and support for trade? Besides the standard account, which focuses on Stolper￾Samuelson-style distributional concerns, alternative accounts that stress the impor￾tance of economic ideas and related values also seem highly plausible. We suggest a simple test to establish whether the education connection is primarily reflecting concerns about the effects of trade on respondents' personal incomes or whether it is a manifestation of broader differences in ideas and/or values among sur￾veyed individuals. We examine the impact of education levels on attitudes toward trade among respondents currently in the active labor force and among those who are not. If the Stolper-Samuelson interpretation of the education effect is accu￾rate, this effect should be contingent on whether or not individuals are actually being paid for the employment of their skills in the labor market.24 The Effects of Education on Trade Preferences Our new empirical tests draw from two key sources of data on individual trade preferences: the NES and the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). These are the same data sets employed by the two most prominent studies of individual attitudes toward trade in recent years: the analyses by Scheve and Slaughter and Mayda and Rodrik.25 In the following section we briefly describe each dataset and present the results for our split-sample tests. Tests Using the NES Data The NES surveys are fielded in the United States around the time of presidential elections and designed to gather data on Americans' social backgrounds, political predispositions, opinions on questions of public policy, and participation in polit- 22. For general discussions, see Wendt 1999; Ruggie 1998; and Finnemore and Sikkink 1998. For studies of strategy, see Katzenstein 1996; on human rights, see Sikkink 1993. 23. For example, Bauer, Pool, and Dexter 1972, 103. 24. Similar split-sample tests have been used in studies of anti-immigrant sentiments to help dis￾cern whether greater opposition to immigration among less educated survey respondents (compared with more educated counterparts) reflects different degrees of concern about having to compete with immigrants in the job market: see Scheve and Slaughter 2001c; Mayda 2004; and also Hainmueller and Hiscox 2004. 25. Scheve and Slaughter 2001a and 2001b; and Mayda and Rodrik 2005