Political Identity: Experimental Evidence on Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

Abstract We identify Pakistani men’s willingness to pay to preserve their anti-American identity using two experiments imposing clearly specified financial costs on anti-American expression, with minimal consequential or social considerations. In two distinct studies, one-quarter to one-third of sub...

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Published inJournal of the European Economic Association Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 2532 - 2560
Main Authors Bursztyn, Leonardo, Callen, Michael, Ferman, Bruno, Gulzar, Saad, Hasanain, Ali, Yuchtman, Noam
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.10.2020
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ISSN1542-4766
1542-4774
DOI10.1093/jeea/jvz053

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Summary:Abstract We identify Pakistani men’s willingness to pay to preserve their anti-American identity using two experiments imposing clearly specified financial costs on anti-American expression, with minimal consequential or social considerations. In two distinct studies, one-quarter to one-third of subjects forgo payments from the U.S. government worth around one-fifth of a day’s wage to avoid an identity-threatening choice: anonymously checking a box indicating gratitude toward the U.S. government. We find sensitivity to both payment size and anticipated social context: when subjects anticipate that rejection will be observable by others, rejection falls suggesting that, for some, social image can outweigh self-image.
ISSN:1542-4766
1542-4774
DOI:10.1093/jeea/jvz053