DP11106 Identifying Ideology: Experimental Evidence on Anti-Americanism in Pakistan

Author(s):	Leonardo Bursztyn, Michael J Callen, Bruno Ferman, Saad Gulzar, Ali Hasanain, Noam Yuchtman
Publication Date:	February 2016
Keyword(s):	Ideology, Political Expression, Political Participation, Revealed Preference Measurement
JEL(s):	C90, D03, P16
Programme Areas:	Development Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=11106

Identifying the role of intrinsic, ideological motivation in political behavior is confounded by agents' consequential aims and social concerns. We present results from two experiments that implement a methodology isolating Pakistani men's intrinsic motives for expressing anti-American ideology, in a context with clearly-specified financial costs, but minimal consequential or social considerations. Over one-quarter of subjects forgo around one-fifth of a day's wage to avoid anonymously checking a box indicating gratitude toward the U.S. government, thus revealing anti-Americanism. We find that ideological expression responds to financial and social incentives, and that measured ideology predicts membership in a major anti-American political party.