The People Want the Fall of the Regime": Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy

We examine several hypotheses regarding the determinants and implications of political protest, motivated by the wave of popular uprisings in Arab countries starting in late 2010. We draw attention to one of the most fundamental correlates of political activity identi ed in the literature, namely education, and its interaction with economic circumstances. Using a combination of individual-level micro data and cross-country macro data, we highlight how rising levels of education coupled with economic under-performance display a strong link with participation in protest modes of political activity as well as incumbent turnover. Political protests are thus more likely when an increasingly educated populace does not have commensurate economic gains. We also nd that the implied political instability is associated with heightened pressures towards democratization.