Persistent political engagement: social interactions and the dynamics of protest movements

Bursztyn, Leonardo, Cantoni, Davide, Yang, David Y., Yuchtman, Noam and Zhang, Y. Jane (2021) Persistent political engagement: social interactions and the dynamics of protest movements. American Economic Review: Insights, 3 (2). 233 - 250.

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Abstract

We study the causes of sustained participation in political movements. To identify the persistent effect of protest participation, we randomly indirectly incentivize Hong Kong university students into participation in an antiauthoritarian protest. To identify the role of social networks, we randomize this treatment’s intensity across major-cohort cells. We find that incentives to attend one protest within a political movement increase subsequent protest attendance but only when a sufficient fraction of an individual’s social network is also incentivized to attend the initial protest. One-time mobilization shocks have dynamic consequences, with mobilization at the social network level important for sustained political engagement.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.aeaweb.org/journals/aeri
Additional Information:	© 2021 American Economic Association
Divisions:	Management
Subjects:	J Political Science > JC Political theory H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
JEL classification:	D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D72 - Economic Models of Political Processes: Rent-Seeking, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior D - Microeconomics > D7 - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making > D74 - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I2 - Education > I23 - Higher Education Research Institutions Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics; Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology > Z13 - Social Norms and Social Capital; Social Networks
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2020 10:51
Last Modified:	23 Apr 2024 10:18
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/107087

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