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Emotional Tagging and Belief Formation: The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism

Author

Listed:
  • Christine Laudenbach
  • Ulrike Malmendier
  • Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi

Abstract

Growing evidence in macrofinance suggests long-lasting effects of personally experienced outcomes on beliefs. To understand the underlying mechanism we turn to the neurological foundations of memory formation. We propose that emotional tagging plays a crucial role in assigning weights in the belief formation process. We use exposure to communism as well as variation in its emotional tagging to predict long-run beliefs. We show that living under communism has long-term effects on beliefs about its benefits. In addition, positive and negative emotional tags strongly affect the (pro- or anti-communist) direction of beliefs, providing anchors to memory that seem hard to reverse.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine Laudenbach & Ulrike Malmendier & Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, 2019. "Emotional Tagging and Belief Formation: The Long-Lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 567-571, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:109:y:2019:p:567-71
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20191051
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    Cited by:

    1. Nghiem, Giang, 2020. "Depressed Demand," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224531, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    2. Cotofan, Maria & Dur, Robert & Meier, Stephen, 2021. "Does growing up in a recession increase compassion? The case of attitudes towards immigration," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 114427, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Ye, Xiaoyang & Zhai, Muxin & Feng, Li & Xie, A’na & Wang, Weimin & Wu, Hongbin, 2022. "Still want to be a doctor? Medical student dropout in the era of COVID-19," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 122-139.
    4. Christine Laudenbach & Ulrike Malmendier & Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, 2020. "The Long-lasting Effects of Living under Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets," NBER Working Papers 26818, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Maria Cotofan & Lea Cassar & Robert Dur & Stephan Meier, 2023. "Macroeconomic Conditions When Young Shape Job Preferences for Life," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(2), pages 467-473, March.
    6. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_017 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Stefano Giglio & Matteo Maggiori & Johannes Stroebel & Stephen Utkus, 2021. "Five Facts about Beliefs and Portfolios," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(5), pages 1481-1522, May.
    8. Fuchs-Schündeln, Nicola & Haliassos, Michael, 2021. "Participation following sudden access," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 671-688.
    9. Daniel Homocianu & Octavian Dospinescu & Napoleon-Alexandru Sireteanu, 2022. "Exploring the Influences of Job Satisfaction for Europeans Aged 50 + from Ex-communist vs. Non-communist Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 235-279, January.
    10. Choi, Syngjoo & Kim, Byung-Yeon & Lee, Jungmin & Lee, Sokbae, 2020. "A tale of two Koreas: Property rights and fairness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 112-130.
    11. William Pyle, 2021. "Russia’s “impressionable years”: life experience during the exit from communism and Putin-era beliefs," Post-Soviet Affairs, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(1), pages 1-25, January.
    12. Boneva, Teodora & Golin, Marta & Rauh, Christopher, 2022. "Can perceived returns explain enrollment gaps in postgraduate education?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Malmendier, Ulrike & Pouzo, Demian & Vanasco, Victoria, 2020. "Investor experiences and financial market dynamics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(3), pages 597-622.
    14. Andrieş, Alin Marius & Plopeanu, Aurelian-Petruş & Sprincean, Nicu, 2023. "Institutional determinants of households’ financial investment behaviour across European countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 300-325.
    15. Trond Døskeland & Jens Soerlie Kvaerner, 2022. "Cancer and Portfolio Choice: Evidence from Norwegian Register Data [The age of reason: financial decisions over the life cycle and implications for regulation]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(2), pages 407-442.
    16. Malmendier, Ulrike & Nagel, Stefan & Yan, Zhen, 2021. "The making of hawks and doves," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 19-42.
    17. Francesco Bogliacino & Cristiano Codagnone & Frans Folkvord & Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, 2023. "The impact of labour market shocks on mental health: evidence from the Covid-19 first wave," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(3), pages 899-930, October.
    18. Josh Matti & Yang Zhou, 2022. "United we feel stronger? On the Olympics and political ideology," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 271-300, December.
    19. Friehe, Tim & Pannenberg, Markus, 2019. "Overconfidence over the lifespan: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    20. Massenot, Baptiste & Nghiem, Giang, 2019. "Depressed demand and supply," SAFE Working Paper Series 257, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • P20 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - General

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