The effect of international actors on public support for government spending decisions

Pinto, Pablo M., Rickard, Stephanie ORCID: 0000-0001-7886-9513 and Vreeland, James Raymond (2024) The effect of international actors on public support for government spending decisions. International Studies Quarterly. ISSN 1468-2478 (In Press)

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Abstract

Does the intervention of an international organization in domestic politics render policy change more popular? While voters may ultimately care only about policy outcomes, the involvement of international actors often seems to lead to resentment. Still, citizens may have greater faith in the wisdom of international actors than in their own government. As others have argued, a well-respected international actor might provide a cue, especially for voters considering controversial policies like spending cuts. We test this argument in a novel pre-post experimental panel study conducted in Spain. We find that citizens become less opposed to unpopular spending cuts when informed that they are required by an international institution. The effects differ, however, across two organizations that we test: they are stronger for the European Union than for the International Monetary Fund. Our findings lend support to studies arguing that the endorsement of specific international organizations can help push through otherwise unpopular policies.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024
Divisions:	Government
Subjects:	J Political Science H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Economic Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior F - International Economics > F5 - International Relations and International Political Economy > F53 - International Agreements and Observance; International Organizations H - Public Economics > H6 - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt > H60 - General
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2024 12:00
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 04:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125938

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