LIWC Indicators of Cross-Country Income Inequality at the United Nations General Debate (1987-2020): An Elastic Net Analysis

Abstract

Can a set of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) indicators differentiate between the UN speeches from higher-income and lower-income countries? Based on 34 years of 6,095 speeches (14,300,539 words) and dynamic income grouping, an elastic net analysis selects 18 such categories. The hypothetical explanations are discussed with four theoretical perspectives: gender-neutral language, politeness, scarcity mindset, and expectation states theory. The findings on cross-group LIWC variation provide UN-setting linguistic evidence for the theories and insights into the language of global income inequality between countries.