Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan
Could perceived relative economic standing affect citizens’ support for political leaders and institutions? We explore this question by examining Pakistan's national unconditional cash transfer program, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). Leveraging a regression discontinuity approach using B...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129786 |
| _version_ | 1855535241323610112 |
|---|---|
| author | Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_browse | Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_facet | Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_sort | Kosec, Katrina |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Could perceived relative economic standing affect citizens’ support for political leaders and institutions? We explore this question by examining Pakistan's national unconditional cash transfer program, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). Leveraging a regression discontinuity approach using BISP's administrative data and an original survey experiment, we find that perceptions of relative deprivation color citizen reactions to social protection. When citizens do not feel relatively deprived, receiving cash transfers has little sustained effect on individuals’ reported level of support for their political system and its leaders. However, when citizens feel relatively worse off, those receiving cash transfers become more politically satisfied while those denied transfers become more politically disgruntled. Moreover, the magnitude of the reduction in political support among non-beneficiaries is larger than the magnitude of the increase in political support among beneficiaries. This has important implications for our understanding of the political ramifications of rising perceived inequality. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace129786 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publishDateRange | 2024 |
| publishDateSort | 2024 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1297862025-10-26T12:56:17Z Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung cash transfers income surveys political systems social protection politics inequality Could perceived relative economic standing affect citizens’ support for political leaders and institutions? We explore this question by examining Pakistan's national unconditional cash transfer program, the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP). Leveraging a regression discontinuity approach using BISP's administrative data and an original survey experiment, we find that perceptions of relative deprivation color citizen reactions to social protection. When citizens do not feel relatively deprived, receiving cash transfers has little sustained effect on individuals’ reported level of support for their political system and its leaders. However, when citizens feel relatively worse off, those receiving cash transfers become more politically satisfied while those denied transfers become more politically disgruntled. Moreover, the magnitude of the reduction in political support among non-beneficiaries is larger than the magnitude of the increase in political support among beneficiaries. This has important implications for our understanding of the political ramifications of rising perceived inequality. 2024-04 2023-03-28T17:24:06Z 2023-03-28T17:24:06Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129786 en Open Access Wiley Kosec, Katrina; and Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung. 2024. Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan. American Journal of Political Science 68(2): 832-849. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12767 |
| spellingShingle | cash transfers income surveys political systems social protection politics inequality Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title | Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title_full | Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title_short | Does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support? Experimental evidence from Pakistan |
| title_sort | does relative deprivation condition the effects of social protection programs on political support experimental evidence from pakistan |
| topic | cash transfers income surveys political systems social protection politics inequality |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/129786 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT koseckatrina doesrelativedeprivationconditiontheeffectsofsocialprotectionprogramsonpoliticalsupportexperimentalevidencefrompakistan AT moceciliahyunjung doesrelativedeprivationconditiontheeffectsofsocialprotectionprogramsonpoliticalsupportexperimentalevidencefrompakistan |