"The People Want the Fall of the Regime": Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy

Filipe Campante and Davin Chor

Working Paper Series from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government

Abstract: We examine several hypotheses regarding the determinants and implications of political protest, motivated by the wave of popular uprisings in Arab countries starting in late 2010. While the popular narrative has emphasized the role of a youthful demography and political repression, we draw attention back to one of the most fundamental correlates of political activity identified in the literature, namely education. Using a combination of individual-level micro data and cross-country macro data, we highlight how rising levels of education coupled with economic under-performance jointly provide a strong explanation for participation in protest modes of political activity as well as incumbent turnover. Political protests are thus more likely when an increasingly educated populace does not have commensurate economic gains. We also find that the implied political instability is associated with heightened pressures towards democratization.

JEL-codes: D72 D78 I20 I21 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-pol
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Related works:
Journal Article: “The people want the fall of the regime”: Schooling, political protest, and the economy (2014)
Working Paper: 'The People Want the Fall of the Regime': Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy (2014)
Working Paper: "The People Want the Fall of the Regime": Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy (2013)
Working Paper: The People Want the Fall of the Regime": Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy (2012)
Working Paper: “The People Want the Fall of the Regime”:Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy (2011)
Working Paper: The People Want the Fall of the Regime: Schooling, Political Protest, and the Economy
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