Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan
We consider the thesis of Alexis de Tocqueville (1856) that economic development and increased mobility may generate political discontent not present in more stagnant economies. For many citizens, as they become aware of the potential for improved living standards, their aspirations may increase fas...
| Autores principales: | , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Cambridge University Press
2017
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147507 |
| _version_ | 1855541642256187392 |
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| author | Healy, Andrew Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_browse | Healy, Andrew Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_facet | Healy, Andrew Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung |
| author_sort | Healy, Andrew |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | We consider the thesis of Alexis de Tocqueville (1856) that economic development and increased mobility may generate political discontent not present in more stagnant economies. For many citizens, as they become aware of the potential for improved living standards, their aspirations may increase faster than actual living standards. Expanded opportunity may then paradoxically result in dissatisfaction with government rather than greater confidence. We develop a formal model to capture Tocqueville’s (1856) verbal theory and test its predictions using a 2012–2013 face-to-face survey experiment conducted in Pakistan. The experiment utilizes established treatments to subtly manipulate either a participant’s perceptions of her own economic well-being, her perceptions of society-wide mobility, or both. As predicted by the theory, political discontent rises when declining personal well-being coincides with high mobility to create unrealized aspirations. The results thus identify the conditions under which expanded economic opportunity can lead to political unrest. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace147507 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| publisherStr | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1475072025-02-24T06:49:05Z Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan Healy, Andrew Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung economic situation economic development living standards We consider the thesis of Alexis de Tocqueville (1856) that economic development and increased mobility may generate political discontent not present in more stagnant economies. For many citizens, as they become aware of the potential for improved living standards, their aspirations may increase faster than actual living standards. Expanded opportunity may then paradoxically result in dissatisfaction with government rather than greater confidence. We develop a formal model to capture Tocqueville’s (1856) verbal theory and test its predictions using a 2012–2013 face-to-face survey experiment conducted in Pakistan. The experiment utilizes established treatments to subtly manipulate either a participant’s perceptions of her own economic well-being, her perceptions of society-wide mobility, or both. As predicted by the theory, political discontent rises when declining personal well-being coincides with high mobility to create unrealized aspirations. The results thus identify the conditions under which expanded economic opportunity can lead to political unrest. 2017 2024-06-21T09:22:58Z 2024-06-21T09:22:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147507 en https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/pakistan/2017-09-18/when-prosperity-leads-disaffection https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133520 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133537 Cambridge University Press Healy, Andrew; Kosec, Katrina; and Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung. 2017. Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan. American Political Science Review 111(3): 605-621. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000305541700017X |
| spellingShingle | economic situation economic development living standards Healy, Andrew Kosec, Katrina Mo, Cecilia Hyunjung Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title | Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title_full | Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title_fullStr | Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title_full_unstemmed | Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title_short | Economic development, mobility, and political discontent: An experimental test of Tocqueville’s thesis in Pakistan |
| title_sort | economic development mobility and political discontent an experimental test of tocqueville s thesis in pakistan |
| topic | economic situation economic development living standards |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147507 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT healyandrew economicdevelopmentmobilityandpoliticaldiscontentanexperimentaltestoftocquevillesthesisinpakistan AT koseckatrina economicdevelopmentmobilityandpoliticaldiscontentanexperimentaltestoftocquevillesthesisinpakistan AT moceciliahyunjung economicdevelopmentmobilityandpoliticaldiscontentanexperimentaltestoftocquevillesthesisinpakistan |