Dean Acheson Professor of Political Science and Global Affairs Kenneth Scheve has a new article with former graduate student and current Associate Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Cameron Ballard-Rosa entitled “The Economic Origins of Authoritarian Values:Evidence From Local Trade Shocks in the United Kingdom.”
Abstract:
“What explains the backlash against the liberal international order? Are itscauses economic or cultural? We argue that while cultural values are centralto understanding the backlash, those values are, in part, endogenous andshaped by long-run economic change. Using an original survey of the Britishpopulation, we show that individuals living in regions where the local labormarket was more substantially affected by imports from China have signifi-cantly more authoritarian values and that this relationship is driven by theeffect of economic change on authoritarian aggression. This result is con-sistent with a frustration-aggression mechanism by which large economicshocks hinder individuals’expected attainment of their goals. This studyprovides a theoretical mechanism that helps to account for the opinions andbehaviors of Leave voters in the 2016 UK referendum who in seeking theauthoritarian values of order and conformity desired to reduce immigrationand“take back control”of policymaking.”