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Political Activists as Free-Riders: Evidence From a Natural Field Experiment

Author

Listed:
  • Hager, Anselm
  • Hensel, Lukas
  • Hermle, Johannes
  • Roth, Christopher

Abstract

How does a citizen's decision to participate in political activism depend on the participation of others? We conduct a nation-wide natural field experiment in collaboration with a major European party during a recent national election. In a party survey, we randomly provide canvassers with true information about the canvassing intentions of their peers. When learning that more peers participate in canvassing than previously believed, canvassers significantly reduce both their canvassing intentions and behavior. An additional survey among party supporters underscores the importance of free-riding motives and reveals that there is strong heterogeneity in motives underlying supporters' behavioral responses.

Suggested Citation

  • Hager, Anselm & Hensel, Lukas & Hermle, Johannes & Roth, Christopher, 2022. "Political Activists as Free-Riders: Evidence From a Natural Field Experiment," CEPR Discussion Papers 17168, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:17168
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. González, Felipe, 2020. "Collective action in networks: Evidence from the Chilean student movement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    3. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2025. "Understanding Economic Behavior Using Open-Ended Survey Data," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1244-1280, December.
    4. Nathan Canen & Anujit Chakraborty, 2022. "Choosing The Best Incentives for Belief Elicitation with an Application to Political Protests," Papers 2210.12549, arXiv.org.
    5. Alejandra Agustina Martínez, 2023. "Raise your Voice! Activism and Peer Effects in Online Social Networks," Working Papers 277, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    6. Hager, Anselm & Hensel, Lukas & Hermle, Johannes & Roth, Christopher, 2020. "Does Party Competition Affect Political Activism?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 488, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. Roth, Christopher & Schwardmann, Peter & Tripodi, Egon, 2024. "Depression Stigma," CEPR Discussion Papers 18919, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    8. Alejandra Agustina Martínez, 2023. "Raise your voice! Activism and peer effects in online social networks," Discussion Papers 2023-05, Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP).
    9. Anselm Hager & Lukas Hensel & Johannes Hermle & Christopher Roth, 2019. "Strategic Interdependence in Political Movements and Countermovements," CESifo Working Paper Series 7790, CESifo.
    10. Canen, Nathan & Chakraborty, Anujit, 2023. "Belief elicitation in political protest experiments: When the mode does not teach us about incentives to protest," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 320-331.
    11. Linek, Maximilian & Traxler, Christian, 2021. "Framing and social information nudges at Wikipedia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1269-1279.
    12. Leonardo Bursztyn & Ingar K. Haaland & Aakaash Rao & Christopher P. Roth, 2020. "Disguising Prejudice: Popular Rationales as Excuses for Intolerant Expression," NBER Working Papers 27288, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Hager, Anselm & Hensel, Lukas & Hermle, Johannes & Roth, Christopher, 2025. "Political Activists are Not Driven by Instrumental Motives: Evidence from Two Natural Field Experiments," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55, pages 1-1, January.
    14. Afridi, Farzana & Basistha, Ahana & Dhillon, Amrita & Serra, Danila, 2023. "Activating Change: The Role of Information and Beliefs in Social Activism," IZA Discussion Papers 16358, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Ingar Haaland & Christopher Roth & Stefanie Stantcheva & Johannes Wohlfart, 2024. "Measuring What Is Top of Mind," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 298, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    16. Roth, Christopher & Hager, Anselm & , & Stegmann, Andreas, 2021. "Voice and Political Engagement: Evidence From a Natural Field Experiment," CEPR Discussion Papers 16839, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Juan S. Morales, Margaret Samahita, 2023. "Can Social Pressure Stifle Free Speech," LCERPA Working Papers bm0140, Laurier Centre for Economic Research and Policy Analysis.
    18. Hager, Anselm & Hensel, Lukas & Hermle, Johannes & Roth, Christopher, 2022. "Group Size and Protest Mobilization across Movements and Countermovements," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 116(3), pages 1051-1066, August.
    19. Artís, Annalí Casanueva & Avetian, Vladimir & Sardoschau, Sulin & Saxena, Kavya, 2022. "Social Media and the Broadening of Social Movements: Evidence from Black Lives Matter," IZA Discussion Papers 15812, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State

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