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The Brexit referendum and the rise in hate crime; conforming to the new norm

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Listed:
  • Facundo Albornoz

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Jake Bradley

    (University of Nottingham)

  • Silvia Sonderegger

    (University of Nottingham)

Abstract

We document a sharp increase in hate crime in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum. We show that this rise was more pronounced in more pro-remain areas. These facts are consistent with a model in which individual behavior is dictated by a desire to conform to imperfectly observable social norms in addition to following individual preferences. Arguably, the referendum was a source of new information about society’s overall preferences over immigration in a context where other determinants of attitudes remained constant. We exploit this feature of the referendum for identiï¬ cation. We build a quantitative model to examine whether the observed trends can be replicated with a sensible parameterization of the model. Our estimation of the conformity parameter allows us to quantify the role of shared narratives, national identity and stereotypes in shaping aggregate behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Facundo Albornoz & Jake Bradley & Silvia Sonderegger, 2020. "The Brexit referendum and the rise in hate crime; conforming to the new norm," Discussion Papers 2020-12, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.
    • Handle: RePEc:not:notcdx:2020-12
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    1. Brexit and hate crime: why was the rise more pronounced in areas that voted Remain?
      by LSE BPP in British Politics and Policy at LSE on 2021-01-12 08:00:23

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    3. Sergei Guriev & Elias Papaioannou, 2022. "The Political Economy of Populism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 753-832, September.
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    5. Daria Denti, 2022. "Looking ahead in anger: The effects of foreign migration on youth resentment in England," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 578-603, March.
    6. Arno Apffelstaedt & Jana Freundt & Christoph Oslislo, 2021. "Social Norms and Elections: How Elected Rules Can Make Behavior (In)Appropriate," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 068, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    7. Entorf, Horst & Lange, Martin, 2023. "Refugees welcome? Understanding the regional heterogeneity of anti-refugee hate crime," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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    Keywords

    Hate crime; Brexit; attitudes towards immigrants; social norms; value of information;
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