The Political Effects of Threats to the Nation: Evidence from the Cuban Missile Crisis

Tommaso Colussi ()
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Tommaso Colussi: Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

No def104, DISCE - Working Papers del Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE)

Abstract: This paper investigates how voters respond to threats to the nation by estimating the political effects of the Cuban Missile Crisis. To establish causality, I exploit the geographical variation induced by the range of the missiles: only U.S. localities within 1,000 nautical miles from Cuba could be targeted. Difference-in-differences regressions show that target counties experienced an increase in voter turnout and support for the incumbent President’s party by 5 and 3 percentage points, respectively. Finally, I find positive effects of the crisis on representatives’ support for military spending and foreign intervention and on Americans’ probability to serve in Vietnam.

Keywords: Voting Behavior; International Crises; Cuban Missile Crisis. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D74 D91 H56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59
Date: 2021-06
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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