How does political unrest in‡uence public policy? We assume that protests are an emotional reaction to unfair treatment. Individuals have a consistent view of fairness, that internalizes government constraints. Individuals accept lower welfare if the government is more constrained. This resignation e¤ect induces a benevolent government to delay unpleasant choices and accumulate public debt, to mitigate social unrest. More radical and homogenous groups are more prone to unrest, and hence more in‡fluential. Even if the government is benevolent and all groups are identical in their propensity to riot, equilibrium policy can be distorted. The evidence is consistent with these implications.

Emotions and Political Unrest

PASSARELLI, Francesco;
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Abstract

How does political unrest in‡uence public policy? We assume that protests are an emotional reaction to unfair treatment. Individuals have a consistent view of fairness, that internalizes government constraints. Individuals accept lower welfare if the government is more constrained. This resignation e¤ect induces a benevolent government to delay unpleasant choices and accumulate public debt, to mitigate social unrest. More radical and homogenous groups are more prone to unrest, and hence more in‡fluential. Even if the government is benevolent and all groups are identical in their propensity to riot, equilibrium policy can be distorted. The evidence is consistent with these implications.
In corso di stampa
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11575/89763
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