Working Paper: NBER ID: w22027
Authors: Maxim Boycko; Robert J. Shiller
Abstract: We repeat a survey we did in the waning days of the Soviet Union (Shiller, Boycko and Korobov, AER 1991) comparing attitudes towards free markets between Moscow and New York. Additional survey questions, from Gibson Duch and Tedin (J. Politics 1992) are added to compare attitudes towards democracy. Two comparisons are made: between countries, and through time, to explore the existence of international differences in allegiance to democratic free-market institutions, and the stability of these differences. While we find some differences in attitudes towards markets across countries and through time, we do not find most of the differences large or significant. Our evidence does not support a common view that the Russian personality is fundamentally illiberal or non-democratic.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: O57; P10
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Survey responses (C83) | Underlying attitudes (D01) |
| Cultural context (Z10) | Survey responses (C83) |
| Framing of questions (C83) | Attitudes (D91) |
| Government propaganda (M38) | Public perception of democracy (D72) |
| Attitudes towards markets (D40) | Similarity in Russia and US (P19) |
| Antimarket shift in Russia (P22) | Tolerance for price increases (D41) |
| Increase in antidemocratic attitudes (D72) | Intolerance of minority views (J15) |