Working Paper: NBER ID: w20153
Authors: Leonardo Bursztyn; Michael Callen; Bruno Ferman; Saad Gulzar; Ali Hasanain; Noam Yuchtman
Abstract: Identifying the role of intrinsic, ideological motivation in political behavior is confounded by agents' consequential aims and social concerns. We present results from two experiments that implement a methodology isolating Pakistani men's intrinsic motives for expressing anti-American ideology, in a context with clearly-specified financial costs, but minimal consequential or social considerations. Over one-quarter of subjects forgo around one-fifth of a day's wage to avoid anonymously checking a box indicating gratitude toward the U.S. government, thus revealing anti-Americanism. We find that ideological expression responds to financial and social incentives, and that measured ideology predicts membership in a major anti-American political party.
Keywords: anti-Americanism; political behavior; ideology; Pakistan; experiments
JEL Codes: C90; P16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rejecting the payment (G35) | Stronger anti-American sentiments (F52) |
| Social visibility of payment acceptance (E42) | Public expression of gratitude (D64) |
| Payment size (L11) | Rejection rates (C52) |
| Rejection of US payment offer (F34) | Membership in PTI party (F13) |
| Intrinsic anti-Americanism (F52) | Limitations to policies reducing anti-American sentiment (F52) |