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The Health of Democracies during the Pandemic: Results from a Randomized Survey Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Marcella Alsan
  • Luca Braghieri
  • Sarah Eichmeyer
  • Minjeong Joyce Kim
  • Stefanie Stantcheva
  • David Y. Yang

Abstract

Concerns have been raised about the "demise of democracy," possibly accelerated by pandemic-related restrictions. Using a survey experiment involving 8,206 respondents from 5 Western democracies, we find that subjects randomly exposed to information regarding civil liberties infringements undertaken by China and South Korea to contain COVID-19 became less willing to sacrifice rights and more worried about their long-term erosion. However, our treatment did not increase support for democratic procedures more generally despite our prior evidence that pandemic-related health risks diminished such support. These results suggest that the start of the COVID-19 crisis was a particularly vulnerable time for democracies.

Suggested Citation

  • Marcella Alsan & Luca Braghieri & Sarah Eichmeyer & Minjeong Joyce Kim & Stefanie Stantcheva & David Y. Yang, 2023. "The Health of Democracies during the Pandemic: Results from a Randomized Survey Experiment," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 572-576, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:572-76
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231093
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    Cited by:

    1. Graeber, Daniel & Meister, Lorenz & Poutvaara, Panu, 2024. "Restrictions to civil liberties in a pandemic and satisfaction with democracy," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • K38 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Human Rights Law; Gender Law; Animal Rights Law

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